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What We Say 2006 Pinot Grigio, Colli Orientali del Fruili
Final Allocation Alert
The Wine Spies have cunningly secured all of the remaining quantity of this wine. No more of this vintage is available in the USA
Superior Wine Alert
We always feature great wines, but today’s wine is fantastic, with an outstanding QPR
Savings Alert
Ground Shipping Included on 6 bottles or more. Enter this coupon code at checkout (discount will be shown before you complete your order): ITALIANSPY
Mission Codename: In Bocca al lupo
Operative: Agent Red
Objective: Earlier this week, Agent Baco Noir went missing in Italy. Agent White, sent to recover her, is also missing. Send Agent Red to recover them both.
Mission Status: Accomplished! Sort of… Today, Agent Red returns, without our missing agents, and with a different wine in tow… and only a few clues as to the whereabouts of our missing agents
Current Winery: Ornella Molon
Wine Subject: 2006 Pinot Grigio
Winemaker:
Backgrounder: At last check-in, White was hot on the trail of the mission Agent Baco Noir. Now Agent White has also gone missing. With Both of them missing, Agent Red has been sent to recover them – and the wine. Read his mission report and tasting notes to find out why our Agents are still missing and why Agent Red has returned from Italy with a white wine
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – This wine looks just like a fine french Champagne of chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with golden hues and sparkling highlights, rather than the pale straw we are used to in Pinot Grigio. On swirling, the surface has a heavy look and settles very quickly
Smell – Agent Sparkle says that this wine has smells of soil and air after a fresh spring rain. I have to agree with her! Also very present in this wine are bright tropical notes, butterscotch, and freshly dried summer hay
Feel – Zingy up front, then the wine glides with a velvet goodness across the mid-palate and becomes slightly drier and a little tannic at the rear. Really nice!
Taste – Bright and fun flavors of fresh pineapple, citrus and minerals with follow-on flavors of tart green apple, and faint oak
Finish – long, sweet-then-tart, mouthwatering and lingering with aromas that seem to last beyond the flavors. Unique!
Conclusion – I have come to love our International Sunday Selection wines and this wine is a shining example of the quality of wines I have been able to sleuth out for you. This wine is delicious and typical of premium Pinot Grigio. It has a fantastic look, great complexity, great flavors and a unique feel. All of this adds up to a wine that is really a pleasure to drink.
Mission Report:
Usually its White that has to clean up my messes. That’s why, when I got the call to search for our missing agent Baco Noir and Agent White, I sprang into action. Besides, Italy in the Summer ain’t bad at all.
To keep a low profile, I inserted through Slovenia, through the border, near Trieste. This was the perfect point of insertion as Agent Baco Noir had been sent here in search of a perfect Amarone.
Agent White failed to make his last check-in. The always punctual Agent White is never late, always reliable, and his failure to report to Central Command was cause for alarm.
If I wasn’t so worried about him, I be reveling in the fact that this time, he’s the one messing up.
My local contact arranged for my transportation while in-country, A beautiful red, white and green Ducati SportCalssic SPORT 1000 Biposto. This gorgeous bike, with its 70’s-inspired styling and modern tech, was just what I needed to blast around the Italian countryside.
Following the coordinates from Agent Whites now silent GPS-tracker, I visited several wineries, eventually ending up at a winery in Colli Orientali del Fruili, in a DOC (official region) called Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
The winery in question, Ornella Molon Traverso, was in Campodipietra di Salgareda, in the province of Treviso. The estate was astounding in its beauty. From its park of Villa Giustinian, to its expansive grounds and vineyards, this is what Italian wine heritage is all about.
After lingering in the gardens, I made my way to the tasting room. It was a hot afternoon and I was thirsty for a glass of wine. Once inside, I was warmly greeted and invited over to the wine bar. There, I tasted the best Pinot Grigio I had ever tried. I spent the next eight hours learning everything I could about the winery, its people, wines, and fascinating history.
I revealed my identity to the general manager and right there, on the spot, negotiated for several cases of the wine. Today I am pleased to bring you one of the finest Italian white wines I have ever tasted. Today’s Pinot Grigio is complex and delicious, not at all like some of the less inspired PG’s I have tasted. I hope you enjoy the wine as much as I do. I certainly had a great time finding it for you.
Finding… Finding…
Oh, GEEZ! I forgot to find Agents Baco Noir and White!!!
Back to Italy!
[to be continued]
What the Winery Says
Ornella Molon Traverso
About This Wine:
After fermentation this wine is allowed to rest on the lees for some time to enhance complexity, although malolactic is avoided in the interest of preserving the freshness and inherent structure of the wine. The result is a dry, elegant wine with a bouquet of fresh fruits and a hint of dried hay.
About The Winery:
Ornella Molon was created from the passion of two entrepreneurs who were dedicated to farming with the aim of producing very individual, unique and unrepeatable wines.
Ornella Molon Traverso is in Campodipietra di Salgareda, in the province of Treviso. A unique and unmistakeable land, a very precious and amazing context to cultivate the vines. The Company’s headquarters are in an old country villa dating back to the 17th century, which was the prestigious home of Doge Giustinian.
40 hectares of vineyards extend along the plane of the Piave River to the south east of Treviso. An excellent area for producing top quality wines, thanks to the extremely florid soil and the vicinity to the Adriatic sea.
The red grape vines that are cultivated are: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Refosco and Raboso, a typical local variety for the Piave; while the white grape vines are Verduzzo, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Traminer, Pinot Grigio, Tocai and Prosecco.
The old vines are cultivated with the traditional sylvoz system, with a density of 3,000 plants per hectare, while the later plants are cultivated with the guyot system, with 6,500 plants per hectare, with the aim of improving the structure of the cultivation.
This system prefers quality to quantity, reducing the amount of grapes per plant with a careful product selection that lasts throughout the year.
The care of the vines and scrupulous daily work continues until the grapes are harvested by hand and then taken to the cellar.
Technical Analysis:
ALCOHOL CONTENT: 12.5% volume
GRAPE VARIETIES USED: 100% Pinot Gris.
PRODUCTION AREA AND EXPOSURE: Piave River basin south-east of Treviso.
SOIL TYPE: mainly clayey, rich in skeleton and with a balanced proportion of humus.
TRAINING SYSTEM: 70% Sylvoz and 30% Guyot.
VINTAGE: harvested by hand into crates at the beginning of September.
VINIFICATION: soft crushing of the grapes, removal of the must from the lees at a low temperature, followed by fermentation at a controlled temperature (18-20 °C) with the addition of selected yeasts.
MATURATION AND AGING: fine lees contact for a few months, avoiding malolactic fermentation. Aged further in the bottle before sale.
ORGANOLEPTIC CHARACTERISTICS: the distinguishing feature of this grape is its coppery red colour. Vinification without the skins creates a fine, stylish wine, which nonethelees presents excellent body and structure. Decidedly fruity fragrance, with aromas of sun-dried hay. Assertive, rounded, well-orchestrated palate, although at the same time stylishly crisp.
SUGGESTED PAIRINGS: may be served as an aperitif, but also interesting with fine rice dishes, fish stews and poultry.
HOW TO SERVE: at a temperature of 8-10 °C in medium-sized, long-stemmed glasses.
