Plozner
Friuli
One hundred hectares of ungracious stone and gravel thrown up by the river Tagliamento. dusted with infertile alluvial soils, the drainage of this land is excellent and so the vines must go deep to survive. This is the Grave at its best and most typical.
In so many ways this is the classic Grave estate, underpinned by a devotion to genuine, unforced, beautifully-made wines. The 2005 vintage adds a new chapter to the estate’s history. Sabina (owner of the estate), took over the reins five, perhaps six years ago and made some bold decisions, including re-launching their classic line with minimalist, striking labels and, more importantly, investing in the future by putting a great deal of work into the vineyard. Great efforts went into identifying the most suitable vines from both within and outside their vineyards and replanting sections at a high density of vines per hectare.
Sabina and winemaker Francesco have released six new wines in 2006 replacing the ‘Riserva’ level of wines with ‘fantasia’. These live under the strap line ‘head in the clouds, feet on the ground’. It is a philosophy by which the wines are made, striving to be great, daring to be different, but just wine. For me the star is Quattroperuno (four with one), the name is a reference to the four clones used in this wine, three are Sauvignon the forth Viognier. It is a stunning wine which has great concentration whilst being fresh and not overpowering – a great trick if you can do it. We also see the release of Duo and Ter, beautifully elegant wines, Duo from Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco and Ter from Cabernet, Merlot and Refosco, light fresh and beautiful. I am always staggered by Plozner’s wines, but this year is huge. great wines.
Awards
The 2005 releases collected accolades from all over the world. On the local market ‘Slow Food’ recognised the Sauvignon 2004 as a best buy in their everyday wine guide, and the Gambero Rosso added its usual 2 glasses and even Luca Maroni bestowed 80 points, this is the flagship wine and it performed admirably. Both the Tocai and Pinot Grigio from the 2004 vintage scored highly across the board. perhaps my favourite accolade is from the Merano Wine Festival (a respected and highly individual committee who meet each year to invite wineries to the Alto Adige to show their wines) who named the Pinot Nero 2003 in their ‘High Quality Selection’, this really means something.
Website: http://www.plozner.it/