2009 Jurosa Chardonnay

The 2009 Chardonnay Jurosa is fabulous in this vintage. It shows all of the elements that make the best Friulian wines so compelling; expressive varietal fruit, vibrant minerality and the personality of the vintage. The wine literally bristles on the palate with energy focus and vitality. A poised, centered finish gives the wine its sense of proportion and balance. The 2009 Jurosa is quite simply one of the very finest wines I have ever tasted from Lis Neris, and I have been visiting here for over a decade. Proprietor Alvaro Pecorari notes that this was the last fruit to be harvested in 2009 yet had the highest acidity. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2017. Proprietor Alvaro Pecorari has done a brilliant job with these new releases. Over the last few years Pecorari’s wines have moved up another notch in quality. One of the changes has been a move towards picking slighly earlier in order to preserve freshness, which seems to paying big dividends. Pecorari opened a 2003 Pinot Grigio Gris, from one of the most torrid vintages in memory, to show the ageability of his wines. At nearly ten years of age, the 2003 Gris has developed beautifully in bottle. Most of the single-vineyard whites are aged in 400-liter barrels with batonnage. The estate uses 15-20% new oak for most of the wines, but a little more for the Jurosa. Readers should be aware that Lis Neris is owned by members of my wife's extended family. I have always viewed education as an important component of wine criticism. An article on Friuli without these wines would have been incomplete and ultimately the consumer would have been poorer for their exclusion. For those reasons I have chosen to include the wines in this report. Neither my wife nor I have any financial or other interest, direct or indirect, in this property. Importer: Lis Neris Estate, Manhasset, NY; staff@lisnerisusa.com