Villa Russiz farms some of the easternmost hills in Italy, where Friuli Venezia Giulia runs into Slovenia and the Collio DOC begins. Grafin de La Tour is Chardonnay from that strip of land, picked in 2018 and made in a full, dry style that has more in common with white Burgundy than with the simple Chardonnays further south.
- Chardonnay, the only grape in the bottle.
- Collio DOC, Friuli Venezia Giulia, north-east Italy.
- 2018, a warm vintage across Friuli.
- 14% alcohol, full body, high acidity.
- Dry, with low tannin.
How it is made
Collio is a small appellation, a band of hills on the border with Slovenia, and its white wines are built on that position: warm days off the Adriatic, cool nights off the Alps, and a long hang time for the fruit. Chardonnay here is picked ripe rather than early, and the wines are made dry and full, with the acidity kept intact.
How it tastes
Green apple and citrus come first, then white flowers and a clear mineral line underneath. Almond shows on the back end, along with the vanilla and ripe apple the nose already carries. High acidity holds the 14% alcohol in place, so the wine feels structured rather than heavy.
Where it comes from
The Collio hills are made of ponca, a layered marl and sandstone that drains well and forces the vines to work for water. It is the same soil that gives the region's whites their salinity, and it is why Collio has held a reputation for white wine since long before the rest of Italy caught up.
Good to know
Collio was one of Italy's first recognised quality zones for white wine, and its producers built that name almost entirely on whites, unusual in a country known for red. The border runs through the hills, so the same geological band continues into Slovenia's Brda, where the wines are made under a different flag from the same ground.
