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.
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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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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. 91
SEPTEMBER 2023
Marco Felluga “Varneri” Merlot Collio DOC 2021
A rich and toasty merlot offering dark berries, cocoa powder, sweet spices and tarry undertones. Full-bodied. Firm and structured but with succulence to the fruit and a supple, more fluid mid-palate. Juicy and rich finish. Drink now. 92
FEBRUARY 2021
Marco Felluga “Mongris” Pinot Grigio Collio DOC Riserva 2016
The Marco Felluga 2016 Collio Pinot Grigio Riserva Mongris is an elegantly contained and balanced white, with a long and silky finish that is pushed forward by preserved lemon, pine nut, poached pear, crushed stone and a delicate touch of mulling spice. You also get some spiciness on the close that is nicely integrated thanks to the wine's creamy texture and mid-weight approach. A Moroccan chicken dish would make a great partner. 93
APRIL 2023
Marco Felluga “Molamatta” Collio Bianco DOC 2017
The 2017 Bianco Molamatta is seductive, with a rich mix of baked apples and pears accentuated by white flowers and almond custard. This is elegant, verging on opulent, but not quite, with oily textures hosting a mix of ripe tropical fruits. It finishes with admirable length and is spicy, leaving dried apricot and hazelnut notes to linger. The Molamatta is a blend of 40% Friulano, 40% Pinot Bianco and 20% Ribolla Gialla with extended lees aging that lasts up to a year. 91
JANUARY 2021
Marco Felluga "Maralba" Ribolla Gialla Collio DOC 2019
The 2019 Ribolla Gialla Maralba stands out for its rich and earthy personality. Layers of ripe apricot, apple and sweet spice give way to notes of candied ginger and floral undergrowth. The textures are silky, coasting across a medium-bodied frame with building tension, as ripe orchard fruits give way to zesty green citrus. It’s structured yet clean and balanced, with lasting minerality. 93
AUGUST 2019
Marco Felluga “Molamatta” Collio Bianco DOC 2015
There’s a pretty dried-clove and vanilla lift to this, which is subtly played, and lemon and apple-curd aromas lurking in the background. Taut, mineral and precise, it nevertheless manages to deliver a good deal of concentration and hearty stone fruit. Drink now. 90
JANUARY 2021
Marco Felluga “Ronco dei Moreri” Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso Venezia Giulia IGT 2015
The 2015 Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso Ronco dei Moreri has a lot of upfront appeal, displaying a mix of wild berries, mint, sage and autumnal spices. Its textures are silky, giving way to polished black fruits, complicated by a complex web of minerals and fine-grained tannins. The 2015 could use another year or two to come into focus, and there’s enough structural heft and primary components here to carry this for many years in the cellar. |