The baker Ferruccio Gigante bought in 1957 a farm in Rocca Bernarda hills, a sub-area of Corno di Rosazzo, in Colli Orientali del Friuli, close to the Italia’s border with Slovenia. The farm purpose was to raise some animals, work the land and develop some viticulture in order to sell the bulk wine obtained to a village tavern as house wine. The crucial turning point happened in the ’80s with the entry in the company of Ferruccio’s nephew Adriano, who started bottling the first white wines with private family labels, helped, since the late 1990s, by his wife Giuliana and his cousin Ariedo (the current winemaker).
Today the winery owes 25 hectares of vineyards (all in Corno di Rosazzo) lying on stratified slopes of marl, sandstone and flysch, sedimented during the geological ages, at an altitude between 100 and 350 metres. The growing vines techniques, according to Consorzio Friuli Colli Orientali integrated defence project, provide for a series of measures to reduce the environmental impact of pesticides, and to increase the quality of grapes.
From a east-facing hill with marly soil, in a historic vineyard with over 75 years of age, is born this Friulano Vigneto Storico. The grapes, carefully selected directly from the plants and hand-picked, ferment at a 18° controlled temperature for almost three weeks, then rage in steel tanks before being bottled for a last refinement and the final marketing.
This 2016 vintage already shows a hint of evolution, with an intense and dense straw yellow color and smells which start with yellow plum, pink grapefruit and wild flowers, then turn to iodine and balsamic tones, with a hint of flint. The mouthfeel too is iodine and balsamic, with a good softness and great sapidity (barely diluted by a slight, but necessary, acidity) which leads to an almond finish.
Rating: 88/100
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