WTN: Calif/Friuli Tocai Mostly..(long/boring)

We tried last night (5/30/12) some Calif/Friuli Whites:
1. Matthiasson NapaVlly WW (13.6%; www.Matthiasson.com; 59% Sauvignon blanc/28% RibollaGialla/
8% TocaiFriulano/5% Semillon) MatthiassonFamilyVnyds/Napa 2009: Med.light yellow color; very attractive fragrant/
floral/light herbal/spicy/melony/orangey beautiful perfumed almost Alsatian-like nose; tart clean bit mineral very
floral/melony/orangey/spicy slight tangy/metallic attractive flavor; very long/lingering very spicy/floral/melony
quite tart/lean/austere finish; a lovely wine almost more like Alsatian PinotBlanc; speaks quietly of SauvBlanc.
$35.00
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2. Matthiasson NapaVlly WW (12.5%; SauvignonBlanc/RibollaGialla/TocaiFriulano/Semillon) 2010: Med.light yellow color;
stronger more herbal/SB/pungent slight cat pee strong varietal SB slight earthy nose; very tart/lean bit steely/
metallic/tangy rather herbal/SB bit pungent/Ribolla slight earthy/mineral flavor; long very tart/acid slight bitter/
metallic/tangy pungent/herbal/SB quite perfumed finish; speaks strongly of SauvBlanc w/ slight Ribolla pungency;
rather perfumed but hard/lean on palate; needs age. $35.00
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3. Massican annia NapaVlly WW (54% TocaiFriuliano/33% RibollaGialla/13% Chard; 12.4%; 400 cs; Bttld: March 2012)
2011: Med.light yellow color; lovely fragrant/perfumed/floral/spicy/carnations rather mineral/chalky nose; very
tart/acid/lean rather perfumed/floral/carnations quite mineral/chalky/flinty piercing flavor; long lean/tart/tangy
floral/carnations quite mineral/chalky/flinty finish; a lean/hard white that needs age; a piercing laser-like
focus to this wine w/ plenty of flavor. $31.00
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4. Massican annia NapaVlly WW (47% TocaiFriulano/33% RibollaGialla/20% Chard; 12.1%) 2010: Med.light yellow color;
slight pungent/lanolin/Ribola some spicy/floral/carnations/apple blossom lovely nose; tart/lean/metallic/tangy/
grapefruity bit pungent/Ribolla/earthy quite spicy/floral/apple blossom bit richer/softer lovely flavor; very long
spicy/floral/apple blossom bit pungent/lanolin/Ribolla very tart/lean quite perfumed finish; plenty of acidity and
needs time. $29.00
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5. DavidNoyes TocaiFriulano PaganiVnyd/SonomaVlly (13.4%; 200 cs) 2009: Pale yellow color; pleasant fragrant/floral
slight wet dog fur/funky/pungent bit earthy nose; soft/fat earthy/dusty light floral bit simple flavor; med.short
soft/fat some earthy/dusty light floral finish; a pleasant enough wine at a decent price but a bit on simple
side and not a lot of character; can't pick up any old-vine character; maybe this is why SauvVert was relegated
to the dustbin of history in Calif. $20.00
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6. Blason DOC: Friulano FriuliIsonzo (13%; EB; www.BlasonWines.com) Gradisca d'Isonzo 2009: Light gold color; slight
herbal/celery/wet concrete/dusty metallic light nose; soft light celery/herbal bit dusty/wet-concrete some watery/
dilute flavor; med. dusty/wet concrete/celery slight earthy bit watery finish; a pleasant enough wine for the price
but lacking in character. $10.00 (K&L)
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7. I-Clivi Friulano VecchiaVigna AI CLIVI DOC: ColliOrientali del Friuli (12.5%; www.Clivi.It;
www.VolioVino.com) 2009: Light gold color; rather earthy/mineral/dusty quite fragrant/perfumed/floral/hair-oil/
spicy lovely nose; tart bit metallic/tangy bit lean/thin/metallic light floral/grapefruity/tangy flavor; med.short
metallic/tangy lean grapefruity/floral finish; an attractive perfumed/fragrant nose but doesn't deliver much on
the palate. $19.00 (LM)
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8. i Clivi Galea Bianco DOC: ColliOrientale del Friuli (14%; #4205; 60 yr old vines; no oak, 2 yrs maturation on lees)
FerdinandoZanusso/Corno do Rosazzo 2006: Med.dark gold slight bronze/orange color; rather vanilla/caramel/
butterscotchy/creamy light oxidized/musty/wet pavement lanolin/hand lotion very strange nose w/ little fruit;
slightly bitter strong vanilla/caramel/butterscotchy rich/lush slight oxidized very ripe little fruit flavor;
rather long rich/lush/ripe strong vanilla/caramel/butterscotch bit funky/earthy/wet pavement slight oxidized
finish; seems almost like oak but lots of rich/leesy character; rather strange wine that speaks little of Friulano.
$23.00 (LM)
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9. Ca'Selva Concordia Sagittaria DOC: FriuliGrave Friulano (13.5%) 2009: Light gold color; lovely fragrant/perfumed/
spicy/floral/hair oil/almost green grass/Malvasia-like light mineral/metallic lovely nose; tart bit lean almost
thin/watery rather perfumed/fragrant/spicy/floral almost Malvasia-like/hair oil/GWT-like flavor; med.long lean/thin/
tight rather perfumed/GWT-like/hair oil/Malvasia finish; very attractive aromatics more like Malvasia/GWT than
Friulano but rather dilute/weak on the palate; nice wine but just that. $24.00 (BWM)
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10. Ronco del Gelso TocBas Friulano DOC: Isonzo del Friuli RiveAlte (13.5%) 2009: Med.gold color; strong earthy/musky/
ripe pungent/cabbagey strange skunky/H2S weird nose; soft very ripe some pungent/earthy/cabbagey bit skunky/musky/
strange flavor; soft long bit pungent/cabaggey/skunky ripe/very ripe finish; some interesting things therein
but on the pungent/strange side; over ripe and over-priced. $32.00 (WE)
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11. DoroPrincic DOC: FriulanoCollio (13.5%) AlessandroPrincic/Cormons 2010: Light gold color; lovely fragrant/
perfumed spicy/floral/green apple spicy/zippy fresh/clean beautiful/aromatic nose; tart clean/appley very fragrant/
floral/green apple spicy bright/zippy lovely flavor; very long very spicy bright/green apple/floral/apple blossom
lovely finish; dry and great acid balance w/ beautiful aromatics. Quintessential Friulano at its best. $33.00 (BWM)
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12. Petite Burja Zelen VipavaVlly (100% Zelen; 11.5%; T Elenteny Imports) Primoz Lavrencic/Podraga/Slovenia 2010:
Med.gold color; beautiful fragrant/perfumed slight pungent some mango/tangerine/malvasia slight earthy/mineral
very exotic beautiful nose; somewhat tart/lean exotic mango/tangerine/malvasia very perfumed/fragrant slight
7Up/Sprite very spicy flavor; very long/lingering tangerine/mango/malvasia slight earthy/mineral very exotic
finish; very perfumed/fragrant white that resembles malvasia a bit; very exotic/beautiful white at a great price.
$23.00 (BWM)
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13. Rosa d'OroVnyds TocaiFriulano MendoCnty (LmtdRelease; 13%) 2009: Light gold color; slight mineral/stoney quite
fragrant/floral/pineapply/spicy very attractive/perfumed nose; fairly soft/rich/lush slight tangy/grapefruity/
metallic/stoney sloral/pineapply attractive flavor; med.long rich/lush metallic/stoney/tangy/grapefruity rather
floral/spicy/pineapply finish; an altogether pretty/drinkable white w/ a nice stony/mineral component; not as tart/
lean/austere as the other Calif Tocais; quite fairly priced at $21.00
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And the usual nonsense from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Zelen: A rare autochthonous grape grown in the VipavaVlly of Slovenia. It had almost vanished from the area because
of its very low yield; but is enjoying a comeback. It is "remotely related" to the Italian Verduzzo, which makes
rather quotidian wines in Friuli. The name is Slovene for "green", which describes the color of the pulp and the
color of the wine it can sometimes take. I was pretty impressed w/ this wine...very exotic in character.
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2. Ramping up to FriuliFest#2, I thought it was time to start tasting some of my Friuli/Calif wines. This tasting
focused on those primarily made from TocaiFriulano. For many yrs, they grew SauvignonVert in Calif; a variety that
was known to make rather dull/uninteresting wines. There are a number of old SauvVert vnyds around, some dating
back to the late 1800's. Many of these old vnyds have SauvVert interplanted w/ other stuff, mainly Palomino.
A number of yrs ago, DNA typing indicated that SauvVert was, in fact, the same as the Friuli/Slovene grape known
as TokaiFriulano. Consequently, there has been much interest in some of these old plantings, particularly by folks
who have an interest in Friulian-style wines. In Friuli, because of objections from the Hungarians, they have been
required to change the name from TokaiFriulano to just Friulano. Slovenia can , of course, continue to use their
name; TokajFriulano. And in the US, we can do what we damn well please...so it will continue to be TocaiFriulano.
Screw them friggin' Hungarians.
The next tasting will focus on those made from RibillaGialla, SauvBlanc, Chard and also one on "orange" wines.
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3. Matthiasson: A new wnry on the NW outskirrts of Napa. Owned by Steve & Jill Matthiasson. Wine is made at the
Selenius facility slightly North of their home vnyd. I first tried their wines last July at FF#1 and was quite
impressed. Their home vnyd should start producing Ribolla in a yr or two. For now, their Ribolla comes from
GeorgeVare's nearby vnyd. They make some Cabernet, but their main interest is in Friulian varietals. Their
Refosco is probably the best I've yet had from anywhere. They have a CabFranc that's a dead-ringer for good Bourgeil.
A winery to keep your eyes upon.
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4. Massican: A wnry label owned by DanPetroski, the winemaker at Larkmead, where he makes his Massican wines. Again,
the focus is Friuli-style wines. Named after a mountain range in Campania. I first had the wines last July and
was mightly impressed. Another wnry to watch.
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5. All in all, I was a bit disappointed in this tasting. I was expecting a lot/lot more from the Friulian wines. They
were pleasant enough...but just that. The last two Slovene wines blew away the bunch from Friuli. Of the non-Slovene
wines, the Massican and Matthiasson wines were a hands-down favorite, particularly the two older ones of that
foresome. These are wines that are made in a lower-alcohol style that is attracting (some/limited) interest in Calif.
Some complained about the acidity levels in them, describing them as screechy or searing. I'm an acid slut, and I
prefer this style of wine...especially with food. I feel that wines like these with a high acidity are the one
that develop the most/best w/ age in the btl. Much like the Alsatian Rieslings of yore...back in the '70's. This,
however, is a rule of thumb that receives a great deal of derision in certain quarters. The key to making wines
of this style is to achieve a wine w/ flavor and not having it come across as thin & eviscerated. I thought both
the Matthiassons and the Massicans were packed w/ flavor and will have a long & glorious future ahead of them...
based on my above rule of thumb. Others are not so confident.
Last yr at FF#1, we talked a bit about pricing of these wines. NapaVlly is a pretty high-rent district...it's
hard to grow grapes here and sell it for a price competitive w/ those from Friuli. The only way to do that is to
make sure the wine has the quality behind it. It's easy to issue a pronouncement "Why should I spend $30+ foor a
NapaVlly Tocai when I can get one from Friuli at $10...or $15...or whatever". Of this set of NapaVlly Tocai, I did
not think any of them overpriced compared to their Friulian brethern.
Tom

Tom; in fact, your notes attest to the mostly pretty substantial prices of the Friuli wines. I never see good Friuli wines for less than 20-25 bucks a bottle, often more. I'm not a rocket scientist like you, but I did notice that...

Hi Tom -

Thank you for the notes again.

Anyway, I'm surprised about your impressions with the I Clivi wines. This is a producer that I have enjoyed great success with, especially since most of their wines have gone for $20 or less in my area. These wines regularly punch above their weight, so to speak. I actually enjoyed the 2009 I Clivi Friulano a couple of years ago, and would have definitely recommended it to anyone interested in a Friulian white that delivered beyond its pricetag. My experience is that the I Clivi wines can also age effortlessly for several years.

It is quite rare that anyone posts a note on a grape that I hvae never heard of, but you managed to do it with Zelen. As far as Verduzzo making pedestrian wines, though, the 2003 Lis Neris Tal Luc (100% Verduzzo) is one of the 4-5 greatest dessert wines that I have had from anywhere in Italy. I've also enjoyed the I Clivi Bianco degli Arzillari Vecchia Vigna ai Clivi, but that may not be your thing.

Hi Tom -

Thank you for the notes again.

Anyway, I'm surprised about your impressions with the I Clivi wines. This is a producer that I have enjoyed great success with, especially since most of their wines have gone for $20 or less in my area. These wines regularly punch above their weight, so to speak. I actually enjoyed the 2009 I Clivi Friulano a couple of years ago, and would have definitely recommended it to anyone interested in a Friulian white that delivered beyond its pricetag. My experience is that the I Clivi wines can also age effortlessly for several years.

This was the first time I'd ever seen those wines. I will probably try them again. Viewing their WebSite indicates they're doing some interesting things. The Galea was sufficiently interesting that I'd like to try another one.

It is quite rare that anyone posts a note on a grape that I hvae never heard of, but you managed to do it with Zelen. As far as Verduzzo making pedestrian wines, though, the 2003 Lis Neris Tal Luc (100% Verduzzo) is one of the 4-5 greatest dessert wines that I have had from anywhere in Italy. I've also enjoyed the I Clivi Bianco degli Arzillari Vecchia Vigna ai Clivi, but that may not be your thing.

Yup.....Zelen was a new one to me as well. I've had some dessert Verduzzos that I liked quite a lot. The 8-10 dry ones did not seem to be up to the standards of Friulanos.
Tom

Thanks, Tom,

Another fan of i Clivi wines here. Definitely go back and try more.

For many yrs, they grew SauvignonVert in Calif; a variety that was known to make rather dull/uninteresting wines. There are a number of old SauvVert vnyds around, some dating back to the late 1800's. Many of these old vnyds have SauvVert interplanted w/ other stuff, mainly Palomino. A number of yrs ago, DNA typing indicated that SauvVert was, in fact, the same as the Friuli/Slovene grape known as TokaiFriulano. Consequently, there has been much interest in some of these old plantings, particularly by folks who have an interest in Friulian-style wines.

This is fascinating. Is there a consensus why the wines moved from dull/uninteresting to generating interest? More appropriate vinification, more discerning site selection, older vines, a combo thereof? In any case, thanks for the background, the Matthiasson and Massican wines have been on my radar and it's quite illuminating to read how they compare to their Fruili brethren.

For many yrs, they grew SauvignonVert in Calif; a variety that was known to make rather dull/uninteresting wines. There are a number of old SauvVert vnyds around, some dating back to the late 1800's. Many of these old vnyds have SauvVert interplanted w/ other stuff, mainly Palomino. A number of yrs ago, DNA typing indicated that SauvVert was, in fact, the same as the Friuli/Slovene grape known as TokaiFriulano. Consequently, there has been much interest in some of these old plantings, particularly by folks who have an interest in Friulian-style wines.

This is fascinating. Is there a consensus why the wines moved from dull/uninteresting to generating interest? More appropriate vinification, more discerning site selection, older vines, a combo thereof? In any case, thanks for the background, the Matthiasson and Massican wines have been on my radar and it's quite illuminating to read how they compare to their Fruili brethren.

Keith,
The few early SauvVerts I had were pretty dull/uninteresting. I think it's probably not so much the grape as it is better winemaking. Much like Zin
was back in the '50's-'60's, it was regarded as an ordinary grape suitable only for jug wine fare, and so the yields were probably way up there.
And probably frmtd in redwood vats or old oak ovals. And then dumped into their RhineRiesling or Chablis blends. Because most/all of the
present SauvVert/Tocai vnyds are pretty old now, I doubt they can get very high yields off them.
If you head up to Calistoga, you should turn off before at LarkmeadLane, where Dan's Larkmead wnry is located. Across the road and to the West
is the original Larkmead homestead/farmhouse. Beautiful old home. Right in front of it is this tiny vnyd of very old vines, dating back to the late
1800's. That's the source of their Larkmead TocaiFriulano. The grapes for Dan's Tocai comes from the Nichilini vnyd up in Chiles or Pope Vlly.
Tom

What Tom said...better winemaking. But better viticulture is a part of that better winemaking. It's like the old saw about education: a lot of times the kids respond to as little or as much as you expect them to, and if you have low expectation, you'll get low performeance.

Sauv Vert/Friulano (you're not supposed to call it Tocai anymore) is capable of making perfectly good and sometimes outstanding wine...as any grape is, really. Just takes lowered yields and careful canopy management and the right kind of pruning to produce high quality fruit, then an approach in the winery to allow the nature of SV to assert itself.

It's like Trebbiano/Ugni Blanc. It's considered a tepid grape, and although it's grown all over Italy and much of France, it doesn't get much respect except as a wine for making brandy (Cognac, Armagnac) But some people have shown its possible to make a pretty good bottle of Trebbiano if you try.

Not quite the same, but look how most Pinot Grigio is produced: about as insipid and bland and featureless as a wine can be. yet in certain places in Northern Italy and Alsace, it is splendid wine.

What Tom said...better winemaking. But better viticulture is a part of that better winemaking. It's like the old saw about education: a lot of times the kids respond to as little or as much as you expect them to, and if you have low expectation, you'll get low performeance.

Sauv Vert/Friulano (you're not supposed to call it Tocai anymore) is capable of making perfectly good and sometimes outstanding wine...as any grape is, really. Just takes lowered yields and careful canopy management and the right kind of pruning to produce high quality fruit, then an approach in the winery to allow the nature of SV to assert itself.

It's like Trebbiano/Ugni Blanc. It's considered a tepid grape, and although it's grown all over Italy and much of France, it doesn't get much respect except as a wine for making brandy (Cognac, Armagnac) But some people have shown its possible to make a pretty good bottle of Trebbiano if you try.

Not quite the same, but look how most Pinot Grigio is produced: about as insipid and bland and featureless as a wine can be. yet in certain places in Northern Italy and Alsace, it is splendid wine.

Awwww, Hoke......this is America...we can call our sparkling wines Champagne. We can call our insipid whites Chablis. And we can damn well call it TocaiFriulano if we want.
It's only in France/Italy that Tokay d'Alsace annd TocaiFriulano are forbidden. Damn Hungarians behind this conspiracy...but only in the EEC. And as the EEC slowly sinks into
the morass, the Friulians will soon be able to call it TocaiFriulano again!! Just you watch.
Good points on both PinotGris/PinotGrigio and Trebbiano/UgniBlanc.
Tom