Where it's from:
>Italy
>Friuli-Venezia Giulia
>Collio Goriziano
Price per case:
£129.83
Bottle size:
75 cl
Bottles per case:
6
Style:
Rich Dry Whites
Grapes:
Verduzzo Friulano
Description:
The Bressan Mastri Vinai winery, located within the town of Mariano del Friuli in the Gorizia province, dates back to the 1600's. Their vineyards are drenched in rich Celtic history in the form of the strategic landscape of Farra d'Isonzo and the winemaking philosophy is founded on family values and a respect for the land and the ancient culture, where limpid horizons seem to capture sensations, colours, scents and flavours most effectively.
Where the slopes of the Collio region fade gently and open up on to the Isonzo river valley these vineyards are located on a segment of land shielded to the north by the Julian Alps and open to the hot winds of the Adriatic Sea from the south, where a rare mixture of natural elements (geographic, geological and climatic) have combined to create a unique and inimitable "terroir." With this natural protection extreme climatic conditions are avoided, and moderate weather permits early development of the entire growing cycle by several days with respect to vineyards that are farther from the river, thus granting grapes with excellent levels of maturation.
Fulvio Luca Bressan, a classically trained Bordeaux winemaker and descended from a family long dedicated to the vines, cuts no corners when it comes to making wine. Like many in Friuli, he's of the opinion that varietals such as Pinot Nero and Cabernet Sauvignon do not "belong" to the French, since those varietals have been cultivated by their ancestors since the early nineteenth century. He believes that these grapes have not only a home in Friuli, but can reflect in their quality and terroir that long history, and be among the finest in the world. For him, the fruit and its pips dictate readiness for harvest, and wood treatment should always reflect subtly in the finished juice.
Verduzzo was recognized in the mid-1800's as one of the most typical and representative of the varieties originating in Friuli. It is certainly a very old variety which was once very widespread and we even find it described in Acerbi's 'Friuli Vines of the Udine Area'. This is an emphatically dry wine, robust, with a bouquet which has strong accents of apple, pear, nectarine and apricot and a dry, almost tannic taste giving an almondy finish with hints of wild flowers.