This month we explore wines from Italy, more specifically Fruili which is located on the north eastern corner of the country near Venice. We showcase some of the regions most celebrated wines with the highly respected Dorigo Montsclapade a red blend and the prized Jermann Pinot Bianco. They are truly great wines and would be great for your holiday festivities or as a gift (one or better yet, both!) for yourself or someone else.

2003 Dorigo Montsclapade; Friuli, Italy

The Dorigo winery was created in 1966 with the purchase of two vineyards, Ronc di Juri at Buttrio and Montsclapade, at Premariacco. In the Friuli of twenty years ago, any talk of Bordeaux blends and barriques was tantamount to heresy. Nevertheless, they set out to make a red that was obviously inspired by the great wines of France.

Montsclapade is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, aged thirty months in part new and part year old French oak barrels. It impresses with a structure born of near-obsessive attention in the vineyard, and an elegance that comes from patient maturation and the hand selection of the finest lots both in the vineyard and in the winery. After bottling, Montsclapade ages for an additional six months, to be released when it is already soft and ready for drinking. However, the aging potential of the wine is an easy 5-10 years.

With its beautiful and rich red color, the luxurious and regal Montsclapade is abundant with aromas of a potpourri of dried violets, orange peel, and oregano; cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, red chili, dark chocolate, baked cherry and rhubarb, dark rich wet earth, and cedar. Smooth but present tannins integrate seamlessly with the acids leading to a longer than long finish that brings out more chocolate, vanilla and cherry on the pallet. The velvety texture coats your mouth and pleasurably invades your every sense.

2007 Jermann Pinot Bianco; Fruili, Italy

It is no exaggeration to say that Silvio Jermann, owner and winemaker of Jermann Winery, has made Italian wine history. This is particularly true of his whites, spearheaded by such cult items as Vintage Tunina (a 2008 Wine Spectator Top 100) and Dreams. Heir to a traditional Friulian winery dating back to 1881, Silvio graduated from two renowned wine academies, Conegliano and Istituto di San Michele after which he traveled and studied abroad, expanding his knowledge of wine making techniques.

Once back at the family winery, Silvio overcame his father’s resistance and inaugurated a new era not only for Jermann but for white vinification in Italy. Since then, the Jermann wines have never ceased to awe and amaze with their purity and depth of flavor, richness in mineral extract, elegance, balance and longevity. The total acreage of the winery is personally monitored by Silvio himself, and is one of the reasons he is seldom seen even at major wine events. Silvio says of his wines, “I want them to be balanced and elegant, but above all, they should move us, prompt our emotions and a sense of authenticity.”

Spicy white pepper and slightly under-ripe white peach characterize the nose, as white rose, honey suckle and lemon bar round out the palate along with a slightly dry earthiness of limestone and seabed. The finish is elegantly nutty, reminiscent of pistachios and toasted walnuts with slight notes of honeydew melon and a rich creamy texture enhanced by a lingering vanilla.