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.
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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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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. 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. 91
NOVEMBER 2023
Marco Felluga “Mongris” Pinot Grigio Collio DOC Riserva 2019
![]() Rich and intense white with aromas of grilled nuts, chamomile, cedar and roasted peach. It’s toasty and full-bodied with firm and concentrated layers. Smoky, phenolic and persistent. Drink or hold. 90
AUGUST 2023
Marco Felluga “Mongris” Pinot Grigio Collio DOC 2022
![]() Sliced apple, citrus fruit and white flower undertones. Medium-bodied, fresh and clean on the palate. Straightforward and fruity with a vivid 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. 91
JANUARY 2021
Marco Felluga “Mongris” Pinot Grigio Collio DOC 2019
![]() The 2019 Pinot Grigio Mongris is a spicy, savory expression of the grape, fresh and more floral than fruity. It’s silky textures usher in citrus-tinged orchard fruits and salty minerals, creating an energetic and tactile display. Hints of lime and residual acids sizzle through the finale, making it hard to resist another sip. 90
NOVEMBER 2020
Marco Felluga “Mongris” Pinot Grigio Collio DOC 2019
![]() If you are curious about the wines of the Marco Felluga winery, check out the 2019 "Mongris" Pinot Grigio (yes, Pinot Grigio) from Collio - and forget any stereotypes of Pinot Grigio as basically a crisp, straightforward, simple white wine. Here you’ll find notes of lemon, apple, pear and peach in a medium-bodied white with rich texture. 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. |