Description
Girlan is one of the finest ‘grower collectives’ in Northern Italy’s spectacular Alto Adige, a stone’s throw from the Austrian and Swiss borders and encircled by the saw-toothed Dolomite Mountains, producing exemplary whites and reds. They have long encouraged their growers to focus on those varieties that best suit their soils, aspects and altitudes and they have led the way in single ‘commune’ and single vineyard wines. Girlan was also one of the first collectives in Alto Adige to pay its growers according to the quality of their fruit and apply strict controls on yields.
It is important to understand the central role that collective wine growing has had in Alto Adige. For a multitude of reasons including: geographic isolation, mountainous topography and tiny average holdings, local growers have historically banded together to form co-operatives. Over 70% of the region’s wines are produced by such co-ops and a number, including Girlan, control a wonderful array of the region’s finest sites.
About this wine: Drawn from hand-picked fruit on Alto Adige’s mineral-rich hillsides of Cornaiano at altitudes ranging from 450 to 500 metres, the juice fermented in tank with 10% going through malolactic conversion to add some flesh to the wine’s cool Alpine bones. The weight and texture here are pinpoint; it’s a racy, pulpy, kaffir-lime, apple and spiced pastry-scented quencher with lovely, pithy minerality and a zesty Alpine tang on the finish. Another genuine bargain from this over-delivering outfit.
90 Points, James Suckling “A very clean dry pinot blanc with fresh sliced-pear and yellow-apple fruit. Plenty of juicy fruit on the sleek and straight palate, the ripeness and substance neatly underplayed. Very easy to enjoy.” JamesSuckling.com (Previous vintage)
RRP $48 Our Special Price $39.99 when you buy 6 or more of this wine
