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Friuli, in the far northeast of Italy, has a justified rep for making the country's best white wines. “The key to this region is the difference in diurnal temperature,” Justin Bubb explains. “In the growing season, the days are very warm, but the nights are freezing. This allows nice, long ripening and wonderful aromatics for the white wines.” So, it’s good news that Babo’s Pinot Grigio is sourced from this region—specifically from two sites in San Martino al Tagliamento, near Pordenone. The vineyards are over 30 years old and sit at the base of the Alps. The soils are a mix of clay and alpine gravel from alluvial deposits.
Pinot Grigio from Friuli generally has more fleshy layers than, say, those from Veneto and Trentino. Justin underscores this by allowing 10 hours of skin contact in the press. Fermentation is in steel tanks, and the wine remains on lees for six months before bottling. A far cry from the one-dimensional wines that crowd the market, it’s crisp, fresh, compact and bright, awash with pithy citrus flavours, lovely texture and a mouth-watering, tangy close—a quality example of Italian Grigio at a heck of a price.