“a Ana Freire” Chardonnay Friuli Colli Orientali DOC 2024

Ronco del Gnemiz | Friuli
Az. Ronco del Gnemiz Soc. Agr. | Via Ronchi 5 | IT 33048 San Giovanni al Natisone

02101724 · 0,75 l · 65,33 €/l · Price (DE) incl. VAT, excl. Shipping< 24 units available

Half a hectare in Rosazzo. Two plots that touch like old friends: one was planted in 1954, when Friuli was still licking the wounds of war. The other followed fifty years later, in 2004, as if someone wanted to continue the story. Together they form one of those patches of land that are known in the Colli Orientali as authentic Grand Crus – a word that is not used lightly here. The winery does not (yet) reveal who Ana Freire was or is. Just this much: the name is written on the label like a dedication, preceded by an "a" like a silent "for you". At Ronco del Gnemiz, wines bear the names of those who matter – serena's mother Iris, her father Dottore Palazzolo. This Chardonnay joins this silent gallery of affection. Christian Patat vinifies it like its siblings: whole bunch pressing, fermentation in wood, the same meticulous process as for the Sol or Ronco Basso.

And yet you can taste the difference. Where the Sol shows silk and the Ronco Basso power, this wine responds with charm. Less austere, less ascetic – but no less serious. Rather: more inviting. A Chardonnay that welcomes rather than rejects. The soils of Rosazzo know no compromises here: Ponca, the famous interplay of marl and sandstone, formed over millions of years. The proximity to the Adriatic Sea brings salty breezes, while the Julian Alps at its back keep the harshest winters at bay. What happens in the vines is no coincidence – it is geology, translated into grapes. SUPERIORE.DE