Felluga Pinot Grigio

Light gold in colour with coppery highlights from the brief period of skin contact. Fresh and floral on the nose, with perfumes of jasmine and violets giving way to apricots and freshly cut pear and bread crust on the palate. Lovely balance between sappy, ripe fruit and a lively, fresh acidity. Long and more elegant than the 2008, with perfumes of roses on the finish.

2009 was the latest in a recent run of fine vintages in Friuli.  "2005 was the last difficult vintage we had", said Andrea Felluga. "Yields were a little below average in 2009, and the wines are elegant and minerally rather than full and ripe".

Felluga's 135 hectares of vineyard are situated in Rosazzo in the heart of the Colli Orientali DOC zone. The wet winter helped top up the water table, and enabled the vines to flourish during the dry spring. The vegetative cycle started earlier than normal. As a result, the harvest, which started on 20 August, was about 10 days ahead of 2008.

Vinification

The grapes were de-stemmed without crushing the berries and then macerated briefly on the skins before a soft pressing. Temperature-controlled fermentation took place between 17-19C. The wine was matured in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, then aged in bottle for at least two months before release.