Jermann - Vinnae Ribolla Gialla, 2018
Silvio Jermann is one of the few vignerons to put Friuli Venezia Giulia on the wine map. His ancestors moved from Austria to Villanova di Ferrara, the family headquarters, in the 18th century. The Jermanns started as sharecroppers but later bought their own vineyards.
When Silvio Jermann finished his “wine school”, he came back home with a revolutionary idea. Abandoning the production of heavy and strong wines, he advocated finesse, harmony and an approach which embraced both modernity and tradition. Since the 1970s, Jermann has consistently released terrific wines that have been acknowledged as Italian masterpieces: Vintage Tunina, Were Dreams, Capo Martino and Vinnae.
Vinnae was first released in 1983. The wine’s name is a nod to Silvio Jermann’s second son and commemorates the Jermann family’s 100 years of winemaking at Villanova (“Vinnae” comes from “vinnaioli”, which means “wine growers”).
The wine has a lemon hue and a pale intensity of colour. Dipping your nose into the glass, the wine reveals notes of grapefruit, sweet orange and yellow peach in the attack. It’s aromatic with a good complexity. Hints of lemon blossoms, yellow flowers, mimosa, hay are wrapped by a subtle toasty note (Vinnae spends minimal time in oak, just 6 months).
To the palate, the body is full with a satisfying weight. The attack is fruity, with focused aromas of pulpy yellow peaches, nectarines, sweet orange juice and apricots. The mid-palate is redolent of lovely spicy notes, mirroring the nose. Medium+ to pronounced in intensity of flavours. The high acidity confers a great kinetic energy to this wine – contributing a general impression of vibrance and freshness. The wine has a quite long finish, aromatic and balanced – as is everything in this wine!