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Friuli, in the far northeast of Italy, has a justified rep for making the country's best white wines. Justin Bubb explains: “The key to this region is the difference in diurnal temperature. In the growing season, the days are very warm, but the nights are freezing. This allows a 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 a 30-year-old site in San Martino al Tagliamento, near Pordenone. The vineyard sits at the base of the Alps, and 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, a feature Justin underscores by allowing eight hours of skin contact in the press. Fermentation is in steel tanks, and the wine remains on lees for eight months before bottling. A far cry from the one-dimensional wines that crowd the market, it’s crisp, fresh, compact and bright, awash with bell-clear flavours of orchard fruit, flower and pithy citrus, lovely texture and a mouth-watering, tangy close. A quality example of Italian Pinot Grigio at a heck of a price.