Winemaker Notes
Vintage Tunina is bright straw-colored with golden reflections. The nose is intense, wide, very elegant and persistent with scents of honey and country flowers. To the palate it is dry, soft, well balanced with an extraordinary persistence due to its full body.
It matches with first courses with truffles with fish dishes and poultry. It is a great match with fresh salmon stuffed with parmesan cheese and artichokes.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This has a very fresh and polished character with sliced pears, white nectarines, crushed stones and citrus leaf. Lots of floral undertones, too. Medium- to full-bodied. Sleek textural mouthfeel and steady acidity gives freshness to the fruit and beautifully highlights its mineral backbone.
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Wine Enthusiast
An icon of a wine, this latest vintage of Vintage Tunina opens with white peaches drizzled with warm honey, roasted hazelnuts and magnolia. The rounded palate mixes orchard fruits and stone fruits that give way to candied lemon and grapefruit and finishes with vibrant acidity and minerality.
With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
The source of some of Italy’s best and most distinctive white wines, Friuli-Venezia Giulia is where Italian, Germanic and Slavic cultures converge. The styles of wines produced in this region of Italy's far north-east reflect this merging of cultures. Often shortened to just “Friuli,” the area is divided into many distinct subzones, including Friuli Grave, Colli Orientali del Friuli, Collio Goriziano and Carso. The flat valley of Friuli Grave is responsible for a large proportion of the region’s wine production, particularly the approachable Pinot grigio and the popular Prosecco. The best vineyard locations are often on hillsides, as in Colli Orientali del Friuli or Collio. In general, Friuli boasts an ideal climate for viticulture, with warm sunny days and chilly nights, which allow grapes to ripen slowly and evenly.
In Colli Orientali, the specialty is crisp, flavorful white wine made from indigenous varieities like Friulano (formerly known as Tocai Friulano), Ribolla gialla and Malvasia Istriana.
Red wines, though far less common here, can be quite good, especially when made from the deeply colored, rustic Refosco variety. In Collio Goriziano, which abutts Slovenia, many of the same varieties are planted. International varieties like Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc are also common, but they tend to be Loire-like in style with herbaceous character and mellow tannins. Carso’s star grape is the red Teranno, notable for being rich in iron content and historically consumed for health purposes. It has an earthy, meaty profile and is often confused with the distinct variety Refosco.