This is spiced and a little zesty with ripe apples and pears as well as white almonds and crushed herbs on the nose. Medium-bodied, crisp and tangy with juicy citrus and orchid fruit and a flavorful, sleek finish. Drink now.
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One of the most interesting hotbeds of white-wine production in Italy is Collio Goriziano, a stretch of the hilly border of Friuli with Slovenia. Good growing conditions for white grape varieties, a penchant for experimentation, and talented winemakers combine to put this out-of-the-way area on the wine map. Two of the top producers in Collio are Marco Felluga and Russiz Superiore, both of which are now under the leadership of sixth-generation Ilaria Felluga, who is following in the footsteps of her father, Roberto Felluga, and her grandfather, Marco Felluga. Both Roberto and Marco are icons for the region and were responsible for holding Collio to extremely high standards of production and viticulture.
The Felluga family traces its wine industry lineage to the late 1800s, when Ilaria Felluga’s great-great-great-grandfather Michele started a business buying and selling wines in Istria (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). Michele’s son Marco added winemaking to the business, growing grapes and making some wine on the family farm just south of Trieste in what is now southwestern Slovenia. After World War I, Marco’s son Giovanni continued the family wine trade, selling Istrian wine in Trieste and in Grado in southern Friuli. He also opened a cellar in Gradisca d’Isonzo in Collio in 1938, but World War II soon broke out, disrupting life for a decade.
After the war, Istria became part of Soviet-dominated Yugoslavia, the family lost their farm there, and Collio became their home. Two of Giovanni’s seven children ultimately established wineries in the vicinity. Marco Felluga, after graduating from the renowned enology school in Conegliano, worked for his elder brother Livio for a while, before Livio left to open his own winery in Rosazzo. Marco stayed in the walled 15th-century fortress town of Gradisca d’Isonzo and founded his eponymous winery in 1956.
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LOCATIONWINERY: Gradisca d’Isonzo (Gorizia province), Friuli–Venezia Giulia VINEYARD: Collio area (Gorizia province), Friuli–Venezia Giulia VIEW IN GOOGLE MAPS REGION DETAILS |
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90
AUGUST 2023
Marco Felluga "Maralba" Ribolla Gialla Collio DOC 2022
This is spiced and a little zesty with ripe apples and pears as well as white almonds and crushed herbs on the nose. Medium-bodied, crisp and tangy with juicy citrus and orchid fruit and a flavorful, sleek finish. Drink now. 93
AUGUST 2021
Marco Felluga “Molamatta” Collio Bianco DOC 2017
Honeysuckle, cooked apples, grilled pears, butter, praline and roasted hazelnuts on the nose. It’s full-bodied, rich and buttery. Plenty of spice and butterscotch. Opulent and toasty finish. Drink now. 90
APRIL 2023
Marco Felluga "Maralba" Ribolla Gialla Collio DOC 2021
Crushed green apples, sage and a spritz of lime form a spicy green-tinged bouquet as the 2021 Ribolla Gialla Maralba opens in the glass. This soothes with its silky textures as a core of brisk acidity adds a reverberation of tension. The 2021 finishes with a tart twang of citrus and saline minerals while keeping the mouth watering for more. Drink the Maralba for its energy or cellar it over the short term to reveal further depths. 90
APRIL 2023
Marco Felluga "Maralba" Ribolla Gialla Collio DOC 2021
A silky white framed by succulent acidity and a chalky base note, this features flavors of yellow apple and pear, preserved lemon and fresh thyme, with hints of white pepper and white blossoms on the lasting finish. Drink now through 2028. 96
DECEMBER 2022
Marco Felluga "Amani" Friulano Collio DOC 2021
Decanter’s Wines of the Year 2022. Leesy and rubbery, this has intense marzipan and earthy notes like dry white mushrooms. Fresh and creamy in the mouth, it's distinctively gentle, with a long, very pure and fruity finish. Elegant and delicious. 90
APRIL 2022
Marco Felluga “Mongris” Pinot Grigio Collio DOC 2020
The sweetly scented 2020 Pinot Grigio Mongris soothes with it’s bouquet of white flowers, ripe pear and hints of vanilla bean. It’s round and enveloping with a stimulating core of zesty green citrus and brisk acids that create wonderful contrasts. This leaves the palate buzzing with residual tension, while tapering off long, spicy and perfumed. 92
JANUARY 2021
Marco Felluga “Mongris” Pinot Grigio Collio DOC Riserva 2017
The 2017 Pinot Grigio Mongris Riserva is sweetly perfumed and exotic, as dried peaches and nectarine give way to notes of lemon confit, white smoke and vanilla bean. It has suave, silky textures that coast across a medium-bodied frame, all held in perfect balance by vibrant acids. Ripe apples, pears, melon and even a spearmint freshness make an appearance, marked by stimulating minerality, all under an air of sweet florals. This extroverted and structured Pinot Grigio is sure to win a lot of fans and excel over the medium term in our cellars. The Mongris gains its character and richness through partial fermentation in five hectoliter oak barrels, followed by two years refining on the lees prior to bottling. 91
JANUARY 2021
Marco Felluga "Amani" Friulano Collio DOC 2019
The 2019 Friulano Amani lifts up with an exotic display of tropical citrus and hints of spice, then slowly settles and evolves to show ripe apple with pretty white flowers. It’s wonderfully poised and balanced, showing an attractive inner sweetness to its orchard fruits, contrasted by salty minerals adding a tactile feel. Hints of vanilla bean, peaches and mint linger, provided a fully satisfying finale. |