Italy's Grand Cru Blend
Borgo del Tiglio

As we enter the late summer harvest I find myself reaching for more textural white wines. One of my favorites, a producer that I have written about before and have talked endlessly about, is Borgo del Tiglio.

This is one of the premier white wine producers in Italy and in my humble opinion the benchmark of Friuli!

Over the past few years, I have converted many of you into avid lovers of Borgo de Tiglio’s wines, especially the Studio Bianco and Ronco della Chiesa.

I am a huge fan of Studio Bianco for this wine’s quality and consistency, but most importantly for its unique blend and aging potential. A blend of Friulano, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling the flesh of the wine makes this bold in texture, making it one of those extremely versatile wines that works well with foods at the turn of the seasons. The minerality of the wine is beautiful, and the aromatics are complex: floral, savory, perfumed, and fruit filled. The notes of orange blossom, and white peaches waft from the glass with a stony minerality with a perfume of orchids and salt water. The palate is full and round, with no feeling of oak or being too decadent. Here the texture and acidity have that fantastic marriage between the two that complements the myriad of aromatics and flavors that is packed in this wine and explode with moderate bottle age. 

Ronco della Chiesa is a pure expression of Friulano (formerly called Tocai-Fruilano) that is the equivalent of a Riserva or as the Burgundians would rate a Premier Cru or Grand Cru. This extremely limited production Friulano is very much akin to the Studio Bianco since Friulano is the backbone of the blend. Here the Ronco della Chiesa aromatics are purer in fruit with less white florality and herbal characteristics but more elements of decadent baked goods and yeastiness. 

Originally trained as a pharmacist, Nicola Manferrari's true passion in the vineyards turned into his vocation in the early 1980s. He took over the family vineyards and started bottling the wines on their own. Since then, through discovery, patience, and learning, he has created some of the most thought-provoking and age-worthy Italian white wines. 

Antonio Galloni sums it up the best, “Borgo del Tiglio is one of the world’s greatest estates. Proprietor Nicola Manferrari crafts brilliant, chiseled whites built on saline-infused minerality and energy that capture the essence of some of Friuli’s most compelling terroirs. Nicola Manferrari is one of Friuli’s original trailblazers. Along with Mario Schiopetto, Josko Gravner and Silvio Jermann, Manferrari was just one of a handful of producers in the 1980s who had the vision and courage to follow his convictions. Still, Borgo del Tiglio remains vastly overlooked considering the quality of what goes into the bottle. So much of what is made in Friuli today is essentially commercial, large-production wine with little personality. In that context, Borgo del Tiglio is a towering presence of true excellence and a shining beacon of what is possible in one of Italy’s greatest but often most underachieving appellations.”

The most recent arrivals of these wines are very limited this year with the Ronco della Chiesa production a mere 2,600 bottles and Studio Bianco a staggering 1,900 bottles for the entire world. Clearly a supply and demand issue as the popularity of these wines continues to grow.

Cheers,
Jeremy