Your Top 5 Italian White Wines

Moving this over from the Nerello Mascalese thread for obvious reasons :slight_smile:


In no particular order, here’s my personal Pantheon:

  • Benanti “Pietramarina” Etna Bianco Superiore
  • Marisa Cuomo “Fiorduva”
  • Tiberio “Fonte Canale” Trebbiano d’Abruzzo
  • San Lorenzo “Il San Lorenzo” Marche Bianco
  • Gini “Salvarenza” Soave


    Honorable mention/demi-god status goes to:
  • Emilio Pepe, Pecorino
  • Lambruschi “Costa Marina”
  • Cantina Terlan “I Grandi”
  • Pietracupa “Cupo”


    You?
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Pretty simple list here -

ROBERTO ZENI Pinot Bianco
SILVIO JERMANN Vintage Tunina
MACULAN Pinot & Toi
MASTROBERARDINO Greco di Tufo
GIROLAMO DORIGO Ribolla Gialla

In no particular order:

Walter Massa Derthona Sterpi & Costa del Vento - Timorasso might just be the greatest white variety in Italy and Massa is the master of the variety; his single-vineyard bottlings are just stupendous.
Cantina Terlan Pinot Bianco Vorberg - these wines might be quite blocky for the first 5 years, but they can become magical after 15-20 years of aging.
Suavia Massifitti - easily one of the greatest Soave Classicos, even though they can label it as IGT wine, since it’s 100% Trebbiano di Soave, not Garganega.
San Lorenzo Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Riserva Vigna delle Oche - Marche Verdicchios are consistently some of the greatest whites in Italy and I had trouble which to decide; I’d say this is the one that trumps the rest.
Anything by Nicola Manferrari (Borgo del Tiglio). Outrageously impressive Friuli whites, world-class wines.

Honorable mentions:
La Distesa Gli Eremi & Sartarelli Balciana / Tralivio - two outstanding Verdicchios that were fighting for the top place with San Lorenzo.
Anything by Edi Kante - exquisite and exceptionally long-lived whites from Friuli. Definitely top of his game.
Nals-Margreid Pinot Bianco Sirmian - perhaps the world’s second best Pinot Blanc (defeated only by Cantina Terlan’s Vorberg)?
All the Montenidoli whites from San Gimignano.
Joaquin JQN 203 Piante a Lapio - one of the most distinctive whites to come from Italy; probably not everybody’s cup of tea, but exceptional all the same.

And then of course the skin-contact whites from the likes of:
Foradori
Gravner
Princic
Skerk
Radikon
…but I guess they’re a different topic altogether :smiley:

Otto,
Have you had Vietti’s Timorasso yet? I’m really curious to see what it’s all about.
Glad to see your love for San Lorenzo. Great producer across the spectrum of their whites and reds.
Love Montenidoli as well.
And yeah I stayed away from Orange wine discussion here, room for another thread altogether! I’d add Damijan to your list there but that’s already a Murderer’s Row!

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Valentini ( especially old ones ) in a league of his own .
Miani friulano
Villa bucci
Ciro picariello 906

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San Lorenzo “Il San Lorenzo” and all Borgo del Tiglio, especially with age.

Then the rest.

Alas, I have not. The only Langhe producer’s Timorasso I’ve tasted is Roagna Montemarzino. A nice wine, but lacking the depth and character of the best Tortonian producers.

I’m also keeping an eye on Scarpa, because to my understanding they’ve planted some Timorasso in Monferrato, which sounds intriguing! Although I’ve tasted a good handful of Timorasso, every single one of them has been from Tortona (as is that Vietti Timorasso, if I understood correctly).

I haven’t managed to find any older bottles of Valentini whites, and fear that they’re now out of reach price-wise. And OH YEAH That Ciro Picariello “906” is SO GOOD. We’ve got the 2013 in Magnums and I feel like that wine is a total steal. Yum!

I would certainly consider the vitovska of Vodopivec in the mix, unless as suggested there is a separate category for skin contact.

I have three that I come back to a lot: DaMilano Langhe Arneis, Radikon Slatnik, and Pieropan Soave.

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Old Valentini are not cheap but they are an experience both trebbiano and cerasuolo . I tried a 2000 not long ago it was majestic . That said I have no problem admitting that we really struggle to compete with our french neighbors as well German Riesling when it comes to whites .

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Your comment regarding “struggling to compete” is kind of a loaded concept though. On the one hand, I agree as far as wines at the TOP end of the price/ageing spectrum are concerned. I used to run a very large Italian wine program in a restaurant and we struggled to list enough “prestige” and expensive white wines to slake the budgetary thirst of those who wanted to splash some serious coin, to the point where we kept white Burg off the list to deploy for those moments.

At the same time, I think the French in particular aren’t even playing the same sport as the Italians when it comes to great everyday drinking white wines for the $/quality ratio. I know that I can spend under $20 retail (american dollar in the american market [NYC specifically, so YMMV depending on locale]) and have a WEALTH of excellent Italian options at hand, while in France entire regions are inaccessible.

So i guess it kinda depends on your priorities. I rather like knowing that Pietramarina is $90, and a white Burg of equal quality is easily $200+ :slight_smile:

I have had some excellent bottles of Quintarelli Secco Bianco Ca del Merlo. Probably in my top 5.

Hi Sarah,
I’m curious, how were you turned on to the “Il San Lorenzo” bianco? Have you had the Rosso as well? They’re such insanely cool wines, but I feel like they’re flying wayyyy below the radar.
Best,
m

not 5, but then, i quite like Italian white wine

Tramin Stoan
Tiefenbrunner Feldmarschall Muller Thurgau
Marisa Cuomo Fiorduva
Franz Gojer Sauvignon
Vodopivec Vitovska
Les Cretes Chardonnay
de Bartoli Zibibbo
Kofererhof Kerner
Nossing Muller Thurgau
Elena Walch Gewurztraminer
i Clivi Ribolla Gialla
Cirellii Trebbiano
Skerk Ograde
Venica Pinot Grigio
Pra Monte Grande
Suavia Massifitti or Monte Carbonare
Collestefano Verdicchio
Mastroberardino Fiano Radici
Radoar Etza

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We’ve been drinking it for years since we found it on the list at a local top Italian restaurant and started seeking it out on our own. The restaurant couldn’t move it - who pays that much for verdicchio, right? I don’t like the rosso nearly as much. It’s fine, but much more generic and less interesting to me. It’s also a magical food wine.

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This Verdicchio from San Lorenzo was one of the fun highlight wines of the trip last time we were in Italy. Was not familiar with the wine, and was smitten sitting outside at La Sosta in Montalcino on a hot afternoon. Recommended to me by the shop owner. Unfortunately, it is not easy to find in the states.
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Two more, thanks to Francesco Grosso at Marea, years ago

Manni Nossing Kerner
Punta Crena Mataossu

both revelatory whites and revelatory values.

One producer that seems to come up on the italian white list that I dont have expereince with is Cantina Terlano. the Vorberg is supposed to be very fine. Any comments on Terlano?

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One of the world’s best co-ops with Produttori del Barbaresco and Domäne Wachau. Vorberg is top-tier stuff by any standards, but most of their wines throughout the ranges are very solid stuff and real bang for the buck. I prefer the whites to the reds, mind you.

Edi Kante from Trieste are making some fine white’s too.