Petrussa

Paolo and Gianni Petrussa are two brothers who decided to take over the family business of selling unbranded bulk wine to neighbors and dedicate themselves to making great wine from their land on the Slovenian border. They have turned the local humble "ribolla nero" grape into a great wine. The Petrussa wines are so intense that the memory remains long after the bottle is finished. Paolo and Gianni are both so well focused that they finish each other's sentences when talking enthusiastically about their wine! Great terroir and and low yield (600 grams per vine!) paired with superb technical winemaking skill and passion makes for this high quality wine of great finesse.

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Winemaking, Vineyards & Growing Season:
100% Merlot. The merlot vines are 20 to 30 years old and are trained in the Guyot form. After extreme pruning only the best 6-10 bunches per vine are leaf, which results in reduced yield and superior ripening of the grapes that remain. The grapes are painstakingly hand selected and picked so that only perfect grapes are brought to the cellar. They are harvested late September. The grapes are gently pressed and then left on the skins to macerate for 3 weeks. After racking the wine is allowed to rest on the lees where it completes the maloactic fermentation and matures until the following spring. The merlot is then bottled after a light filtration. It is aged briefly in the bottle before being released.

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Winemaking, Vineyards & Growing Season:
100% Schioppettino.  The soil is a combination of clay and limestone but predominately sandy, allowing for good drainage. The vines are trained in the Guyot method. The grapes are harvested in the second week of October, selected and picked by hand eliminating any imperfect grapes and gently placed in small cases. The grapes are gently pressed and then left to ferment in large vats. The maceration lasts for about 3 weeks. After racking the wine is placed in 225-liter barriques where it completes the fermentation and malolactic fermentation. It is bottled 29 months after the harvest. Schioppettino is not filtered but left to decant naturally.

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Winemaking, Vineyards & Growing Season:
100% Sauvignon Blanc.  The soil is a combination of clay and limestone but predominately sandy, allowing for good drainage. The vines are trained in the Guyot method. The grapes are hand selected and picked then placed gently in small cases. They are soft pressed and briefly macerated before a “static” cold decanting of the must to eliminate the larger must. The alcoholic fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless vats. The grapes undergo a soft pressing and a brief maceration on the skins, and then the wine is decanted and racked to eliminate most of the must. The alcoholic fermentation takes place in stainless steel vats. In the spring the Sauvignon undergoes a light filtration and a brief bottle ageing before being released.

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Winemaking, Vineyards & Growing Season:
100% Tocai Friuliano.  The vines are cultivated in soil that is combination of clay and limestone characteristic of the hills of Prepotto. The vines are trained in the Guyot form. Extreme pruning leaves only the best 6 -10 bunches of grapes per vine resulting in reduced yield and superior ripening. The grapes are painstakingly hand selected and picked so that only perfect grapes are brought to the cellar. The grapes are gently pressed and then combined before fermentation. The wine is then decanted and racked. The alcoholic fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. After the malolactic fermentation the wine is left on the lees and stirred periodically. Due to extreme weather conditions the yield per vine was notably reduced resulting in a very good year for Tocai Friulano.

Score: 87.  "This starts off a little funky and sweaty-smelling, but that blows off with some time to reveal a tropical, fruit-laden wine that's round in the mouth, yet finishes with a refreshing burst of nectarine, mango, and white pepper. Drink now - 2010."