Marco Felluga makes this from Pinot Grigio grown in Collio, the hills on Friuli Venezia Giulia's eastern edge, hard against Slovenia. The grape is the same one that gives Alsace its Pinot Gris and much of northern Italy its pale, neutral bottlings. In Collio it ripens on marl and sandstone and comes out with colour, weight and a mineral spine.
- Pinot Grigio, Friuli Venezia Giulia, northeast Italy.
- Collio DOC, hills on the Slovenian border.
- 2024 vintage, 13.5% abv.
- Dry, medium body, high acidity.
- 750ml.
How it is made
Collio is one of Italy's smaller appellations and one of its most particular: a DOC since 1968, with vineyards on steep, terraced slopes of ponca, a layered marl and sandstone that drains fast and stresses the vines. Pinot Grigio is a colour mutation of Pinot Nero, which is why the skins carry a copper-pink tinge and why the wine can pick up gold rather than green in the glass.
How it tastes
Golden yellow with copper tones, as the note here says, and an intense, immediate bouquet of acacia flowers, broom and apple. Green apple and white peach on the palate, an almond note toward the back, and a clear mineral streak. High acidity keeps it crisp through the finish; tannin is low, body medium.
Good to know
Collio's producers have long argued that Pinot Grigio deserves the same care as Chardonnay, and the DOC rules back them: yields are capped and the hillside sites are graded, so the grape is not grown for volume here. The copper colour in the glass is the grape's own doing, not the winemaker's.
