Wine of the week: a very simple yet heavenly creation

This Italian white is the perfect example of a fascinating and rare grape, says Matthew Jukes.

Matthew Jukes
By Matthew Jukes
published

869_MW_P00_Wine

2016 Le Alte, Friulano, Bidoli, Friuli-Grave, Italy (£9, Marks & Spencer).

I usually expound on the technical virtues and winemaking wizardry of the heroes who make the wines that make the grade for a feature on this page, but this bottle is the result of no such mysteries. Winemaker Arrigo Bidoli simply uses young friulano vines, machine-harvests them, cold macerates the fruit for six hours, adds yeast and then ferments at a low temperature for two to three weeks. Malolactic fermentation does not take place because the winery is so cold. It is unoaked and a slimline 12.5% alcohol on the scales when it is bottled. That's it I could do it. You could do it. I love the simplicity of this heavenly wine.

So how has it made it onto this very special page? The answer is that the grape friulano (which used to be called tocai friulano and is nothing to do with Hungarian tokaji, but is a synonym for sauvignon vert in Chile), when in the right hands, is truly magical and you don't need to do anything at all to capture its beauty. Any technical flourish, blending trick or winemaking gizmo would only take away from its singular character and blushing innocence. This wine might sell for only a lowly price, but it is the perfect example of this fascinating and rare grape. Classy, magical fruit, with a lean, raspy and haunting finish, this is a wine that willset your pulse racing. You might never go back to pinot grigio again.

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Matthew Jukes is a winner of the InternationalWine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year (MatthewJukes.com).

Matthew Jukes
Matthew Jukes

Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.  

Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.

He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.

Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’.  He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner. 

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy.  His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.

 

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