Vie di Romans

The grapes for Ciampagnis come from a 7.8 hectare site located just above sea level at an altitude of 32 metres. Fresh, Mediterranean-spicy bouquet with notes of white flowers and an exotic touch. On the palate with medium pressure and a beautiful silky texture, rich aromas of citrus, pineapple and apple, the long yeast ageing provides a terrific freshness and complexity. A wine with great enthusiasm potential, full of energy and personality with a mineral finish. SUPERIORE.DE

"The 2020 Chardonnay Ciampagnis is seductively rich, enticing with a whiff of confectionary spice and custard that gives way to lime-infused peaches. This is round and opulent in feel, with a soothing wave of ripe orchard fruits contrasted by juicy acids. The 2020 comes across as dense yet giving at this stage, needing time to develop further depths. It finishes fresh and medium in length, leaving a slight herbal twang." Vinous

Friulano Dolée is another impressive flagship of Vie di Romans. Bright straw yellow colour. Clean, fresh aromas of honey, citrus and pear, complemented by ripe banana. On the palate, its soft texture provides an ideal sounding board for the beautifully layered fruit basket of peach, melon, quince and fresh pear. A ripe, finessed wine that finishes long and with excellent acid-fruit balance. SUPERIORE.DE

"This is really intense and exotic with lots of dried-pineapple and peach character. Spicy, too. It's full-bodied and layered with some phenolics, but the dry and exotic star fruit and peach is so intense at the finish." James Suckling

Rive Alte Sauvignon Blanc Piere is the lighter of the winery's two Sauvignons, but both wines are beautiful in their own way. Piere shows earthy notes of green olive, garden tomato leaves and sage on the palate, rounded off by upbeat and tangy flavours of citrus orange peel and some crushed mineral and white pepper. All the elements are in place and like all Vie di Romans whites, Piere needs time in the glass to find its centre and minerality. And if you have the patience to give it to him, he is great. SUPERIORE.DE

"There’s a sharp herbal twang and note of flint that introduces the 2020 Sauvignon Blanc Piere, as it softens with time in the glass to show chalk dust and sour melon. This is rich and weighty on the palate with ripe orchard fruits, yet it is struggling a bit with its focus at this stage, as a sour twang of green citrus adds a tug of tension. It tapers off long and spicy with hints of tangerine and ginger. The 2020 needs time to come fully into focus." Vinous

Friulano Dolée is another impressive flagship of Vie di Romans. Bright straw yellow colour. Clean, fresh aromas of honey, citrus and pear, complemented by ripe banana. On the palate, its soft texture provides an ideal sounding board for the beautifully layered fruit basket of peach, melon, quince and fresh pear. A ripe, finessed wine that finishes long and with excellent acid-fruit balance. SUPERIORE.DE

"The 2020 Friulano Dolée opens with crushed stone, pungent florality, moist underbrush and hints of kiwi skins. It's soft and enveloping with ripe peach and tropical leanings, as zesty acids add a pinch of spicy tension. This tapers off with sapid fruits and long, as a pleasant inner sweetness gives way to hints of almond paste. A sexy vintage of Dolée." Vinous

Vibrant golden straw yellow. The floral and spicy nose offers ripe pear, cinnamon, chamomile, white peach and grapefruit with subtle hints of ginger. Rich and racy, with layered fruit tree and tropical fruit flavours and a subtle spice that lingers beautifully on the rich, lush finish. Its excellent saltiness and a very juicy, fresh cut accompany the tropical and spicy fruit flavours on the long finish. SUPERIORE.DE

"This is a fantastic white. Opulent and spicy with so much clove and dried lemon and lime. It's full and oily, yet solid and energetic at the same time. Goes on for a long time. Malvasia, riesling and friulano. Already fascinating to drink, but will age beautifully." James Suckling

Vibrant golden straw yellow. The floral and spicy nose offers ripe pear, cinnamon, chamomile, white peach and grapefruit with subtle hints of ginger. Rich and racy, with layered fruit tree and tropical fruit flavours and a subtle spice that lingers beautifully on the rich, lush finish. Its excellent saltiness and a very juicy, fresh cut accompany the tropical and spicy fruit flavours on the long finish. SUPERIORE.DE

"The Flors di Uis is remarkably pretty and lifted in 2020. Exotic florals and sweet spice complement green melon and hints of smoke. This boasts textures like nectar, forward in style yet perfectly balanced with ripe, mineral-tinged apple and pears. There is a seamless yet perfectly poised sensation here, as its zesty acids add verve and leave a pleasant inner sweetness through the finale, contrasted by a twang of sour lime. In 2020, the Flors di Uis is a highly enjoyable expression of contrasts that drive the palate wild." Vinous

Pale copper hue with amber and salmon reflections resulting from the prolonged maceration on the skins of the Pinot Grigio grapes (Ramato). Straightforward, precise nose of white stone fruit, sweet spices and vanilla. Clearly structured and forward on the palate with tart berry fruit, bright cherries, wild mint and a hint of bitter almond. A salty nuance at the back, light-footed, almost weightless, and very animating as it progresses. SUPERIORE.DE

Warm, rich golden yellow. On the rich bouquet, pretty white and yellow flowers, layers of apricot, pear and melon. In the drink, a rich texture, certain opulence and beautiful intensity, with hints of spices and almonds, all framed by a virile acidity that leads this total work of art into a long, furious finish. SUPERIORE.DE

"The 2020 Chardonnay Vie di Romans pulls you close with an enticing bouquet of sweet peach and white flowers offset by hints of smoke. This is elegance personified, rich and polished with fleshy ripe fruits and motivating acidity. It tapers off with persistence, leaving the senses coated in glycerol fruits, along with blood orange and gingery spices. The balance here is remarkable, as is the depth. The 2020 will require cellaring, but it is a total knockout." Vinous

Soft, silky wine with aromas of ripe apricots and honey that harmonise well with the fleshy richness of the mouthfeel. The expressive and very varietal palate is crowned by abundant stone fruit, melon and pear. This is a strong showing from one of the winery's flagships. SUPERIORE.DE

"The 2020 Sauvignon Blanc Vieris wafts up with a spritz of lemon zests and savory herbs complemented by wet slate. It’s silken and pliant with underlying energy, as today, the density of the fruit is more prominent; yet below it all, a saturation of saline-minerals collects. This tapers off long with sapid concentration, yet also the residual acids to balance. The 2020 is a Vieris to bury deep in the cellar." Vinous

Dut' Un is a full-bodied cuvée of Chardonnay and Sauvignon with generous texture, built high with layers of orchard fruit, lime, apricot, cooked pear, spice, custard and lemon mousse. It is a big wine that relies on its geographical origins and the vineyard's well-draining limestone clay soils for its flavour intensity and purity. Ageing on the lees for 8 months gives it its creamy character and firm structure. For all its fruitiness and complexity, it has a distinct minerality and freshness that will age beautifully. SUPERIORE.DE

"Lots of sliced apple, peach and dried lemon. Full-bodied with a dense, rich center-palate that’s toned by the acidity and phenolics. It’s quite oily at the end. Fruit-forward." James Suckling

"A captivating mix of lemon oils, ground ginger, hints of kiwi and pungent yellow florals bursts up from the youthfully intense 2018 Dut Un. With time, a note of cracked slate develops in the glass, adding a classy earthy flair. Its glycerol textures find wonderful contrast in the penetrating tart grapefruit citrus tones and brilliant acidity within, while mixing green apple with nectarine. This is pure elegance through the finale, as it leaves the palate completely refreshed while revealing its mineral component, just in time to balance the sweet peach tones that linger. The 2018 Dut Un is an equal-parts blend of Chardonnay from the Vie di Romans and Sauvignon Blanc from the Vieris vineyards. It’s simply stunning." Vinous

Dut' Un is a full-bodied cuvée of Chardonnay and Sauvignon with generous texture, built high with layers of orchard fruit, lime, apricot, cooked pear, spice, custard and lemon mousse. It is a big wine that relies on its geographical origins and the vineyard's well-draining limestone clay soils for its flavour intensity and purity. Ageing on the lees for 8 months gives it its creamy character and firm structure. For all its fruitiness and complexity, it has a distinct minerality and freshness that will age beautifully. SUPERIORE.DE

2016 is the debut vintage of the single-varietal Pinot Nero, which is only produced in the best years. Fine, very elegant bouquet of redcurrant, blueberry and sweet spicy notes. Cool and lean on the palate, of Burgundian finesse and structure, the fruit discreetly underpinned by fine spice and wonderfully polished tannin. Long and complex with aristocratic restraint and blessed with great ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

"The 2016 Pinot Noir is dark and woodsy at first, with crushed raspberries and peppery florals evolving in the glass. This is soft and pure, with vibrant acidity enlivening its tart wild berry fruits. There’s a pretty lift here as well, with rosy inner florals and mineral-tinged cherries saturating toward the close, leaving a hint of sweet spice. This zesty Pinot Noir is a pleasure to taste." Vinous

For more than thirty years, Vie di Romans has been vinifying only its own grapes in order to respect and express the respective vineyards of origin. The crus "Piere", "Vieris", "Vie di Romans", "Ciampagnis", "Dessimis" and others embody the sensory quintessence of their grapes of origin, each with its own recognisable and enduring historical character.

With the ambitious project "I Climat" (traditional Burgundian term), Gianfranco Gallo wants to present the terroir expression of his wines in the truest and most authentic way. Each individual terroir offers a certain variability: it is up to the winemaker to decide whether to capture its unique essence or to use it in a more general way.

At Vie di Romans, the Chardonnay variety was chosen because it has an innate, genetic ability to connect in a very noticeable way with the different soil-climate complexes in which it grows. The six different Climat wines come from specific Chardonnay parcels within the two crus vineyards, Vie di Romans and Ciampagnis, and contain the names or name components of the families who farmed these vineyards in the distant past - Nuts, Goss, Curie, Glesie, Boghis and Cortesar. In the past, local properties were very parcelled out and, unlike today, were farmed by the same family or owner for generations.

It is important to mention that uniform viticulture and vinification practices were used in the vinification of all six site Chardonnays, so that no external factor could compromise the unique and natural expression. Each vintage (since the beginning of 2015) is the result of 18 months of "elevage sur lie" followed by two years of bottle ageing. The extended maturation period was deliberately chosen to allow the wine to develop the authentic sensory expression that a specific soil-climate unit is capable of producing.

Gianfranco Gallo is convinced that the true identity of a wine and the terroir that produces it only emerges through longevity, because it is only through this process that the wine discovers its inner balance, stability and unmistakable identity. SUPERIORE.DE

The strictly limited wooden box of 6 contains the following wines:

1x 0,75l "Goss" Chardonnay Friuli Isonzo DOC 2016 / 14,50 % vol
1x 0,75l "Cortesar" Chardonnay Friuli Isonzo DOC 2016 / 14,00 % vol
1x 0,75l "Boghis" Chardonnay Friuli Isonzo DOC 2016 / 14,00 % vol
1x 0,75l "Nuts" Chardonnay Friuli Isonzo DOC 2016 / 14,50 % vol
1x 0,75l "Curie" Chardonnay Friuli Isonzo DOC 2016 / 14,50 % vol
1x 0,75l "Glesie" Chardonnay Friuli Isonzo DOC 2016 / 15,00 % vol