Italy's Grand Cru Blend - The Greatest Blended White

The weekend for me typically is my time to relax and clear my head from work.  

That means you will normally find me in the kitchen for a good part of Saturday and Sunday, as I am all about cooking low and slow, and multi-step classic dishes.  

With the current state of NYC, I find myself combining my normal weekend routine with work, as well as checking in with many of my colleagues across the wine business and restaurant business. Not to mention, communicating with my retail team that is working remotely, and trying to keep business operating as normal as possible.

The call to shelter led me to quickly grab from our shop a random mixed case of wines that I have not tasted in some time, or hadn't yet tasted.  My goal was to taste through these, and give my team some ideas and updates on these bottles. The plan has morphed, as I of course picked wines that are low in quantity.  The plan now is to offer up the last of these stocks after what I've found, and to highlight some ideas on how to pair these bottles.

Yesterday, I opened the 2015 Studio Bianco from Borgo del Tiglio.   To put things in perspective, the 2018 vintage is due to the USA this spring, so this is a white with some bottle age.

That bottle age was exactly what I was looking for and it made this wine soar with the slow roasted pork shoulder that we had with an herb, cucumber and mache salad with feta and pine nuts, in addition to roasted radishes, fennel and scallions topped with tarragon and chives.  A few roasted baby potatoes and some lemony avocado on the side rounded things out.

The Studio Bianco was exceptional!  The blend of Friulano, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling yields a wine of power and structure.  The flesh of the wine makes this bold enough to hold up to rich meats. The minerality of the wine is beautiful, and the aromatics are complex:  floral, savory, perfumed, and fruit filled. The notes of orange blossom, and white peaches waft from the glass with a stony minerality with a perfume of orchids and salt water.  The palate is full and round, with no feeling of oak or being too decadent. The bottle age rounded out the sharp edges this wine can present in its youth. Here the texture and acidity have that fantastic marriage between the two that complements the myriad of aromatics and flavors that is packed in this wine.

Studio Bianco has long been a favorite wine of mine from Friuli, and re-tasting the 2015 today only reinforces for me that this wine is absolutely amazing with age, holding up just as well as any premier cru Burgundy out there.

While we don’t have any more of the 2015 to offer, we do have the 2018 vintage confirmed to arrive in April/May if you have any interest. 

I trust you and your loved ones are well.  Stay safe and enjoy the time to experiment yourself with food and wine pairings.  

Cheers,

Jeremy