Borgo del Tiglio
BACKGROUND
Borgo del Tiglio is one of the world’s greatest estates operated by Nicola Manferrari. Located in Cormòns, right in the heart of the Friulian Collio. The property is essentially a combination of home, farm, and winery.
Manferrari came to winemaking by accident. Originally trained as a pharmacist, he took over the family’s estate upon the unexpected passing of his father in 1981. In 1982, he bottled his own wine for the first time. It was rough going in the early days., yet the wines that have survived from this period are a poignant reminder that what matters most is the quality of the vineyards.
Nicola Manferrari is now recognized as one of Friuli’s original trailblazers, known for crafting brilliant, chiseled whites built on saline-infused minerality and energy that capture the essence of Friuli. Borgo del Tiglio is a towering presence of true excellence and a shining beacon of what is possible in one of Italy’s greatest appellations.
The Terroir
The land is divided into three: The Brazzano Vineyard, The Ca’Delle Valladevineyard, and the Ruttars Vineyard. The Brazzavo Vineyard is wedged between the steep hill of San Giorgio where the Rosso della Centa is located and the beginning of Monte Quarin, where the Ronco della Chiesa, is located.
The Ca’Delle Valladevineyard is south-east facing and gets a lot of sun, but is situated in the coldest area of the Collio due to it being lashed by cold northeasterly winds. The hill itself is set back from the first line of hillsides that rise up from the plain, and which run from the Colle di San Giorgio to Monte Quarin and follow a line south-east until they reach Gorizia. The land is used exclusively for Chardonnay.
The Ruttars Vineyard is also a south-east aspect and rather cool. It’s typical Collio terrain with outcroppings of limestone, is particularly suited to aromatic white grapes, bringing full expression to their scents and aromas and confers the wines with powerful flavors.
The Cellar
The wine-making cellars are nestled within the buildings of the ancient hamlet. In 2006, a spacious underground cellar capable of holding more than 300 wooden fermentation and refining kegs was constructed within the confines of the old yard buildings. The bottling and wine resting area is separate from the wine-making area; located across the street, connected by a system of underground pipes to the latter.
The cellars are subdivided into four areas at different heights which allows us to move the product around by simple dint of gravity, in the absence of mechanical devices which reduces handling and minimizes losses. A particularly interesting aspect of this is to be able to press the grapes by allowing them to fall directly into the wine press itself using no means of transport and therefore obviating inadvertent breakage of the grapes; consequently bottling can also perform without the use of a constant pressure pump. The bottling plant and the wine resting areas are also equipped with temperature control systems.
tHE WINE
Collio Ronco della Chiesa Friulano / Collio Friulano
Collio Ronco della Chiesa Friulano is the wine most often associated with the Borgo del Tiglio estate. It arrives from a vineyard planted over 70 years ago with the “green” Tocai clone which was the most aromatic of the areas Friulano clonal selections. This wine is most credited historically for elevating Friulano production from industrial to artisanal. Nicola sought to make a serious wine from Friulano and realized that the current style of production was only suited to industrial quality wines. Through soft-pressing, grape selection, and other techniques he created Ronco della Chiesa in the style of other classic great white wines of the world. This wine was so well-received in the late 80s new interest in the grape was ignited and today we have high quality Friulano produced in varying styles from many top Friuli producers. The Collio Friulano comes from this plot as well as another 3ha plot in Brazzano and is also a delightful expression of this full flavored and aromatic varietal.
Collio Bianco
Collio bianco is a wine that arrives from a blend of Friulano, Sauvignon, and Riesling Renano. This wine was first created in 1989 while Nicola was working on his idea of the Studio di Bianco (Study in White) and is intended to give a snapshot of each vintage.
This particular blend is used because the natural acidity of the Riesling and Sauvignon plays off the power of the Friulano creating a rich palate of layered flavors. The barrels that remain after the final Studio di Bianco blend for the vintage has been made are used for the Collio Bianco. This wine generally comes completely from the Ruttars plot but in occasional vintages may include lots of Friulano from Brazzano.
Studio di Bianco
The idea of Studio di Bianco (study in white) was born in 1989 after Nicola secured the purchase of a 5ha plot of vineyards in Ruttars. This plot had been planted to a number of varieties and rather than start fresh he began vinifying the old vines as single-varietal lots with the intention of blending them for a final representative example of the unique terrior and micro-climate of the small vineyard.
Over the next three vintages Nicola arrived at the final blend being approximately 50% Friulano, 25% Sauvignon Blanc, and 25% Riesling Renano. The Sauvignon is harvested ripe in order to be processed alongside the 2 later ripening varietals and this is likely the reason the completed wine is able to showcase the personality of the vineyard and vintage over the often pronounced profiles of the the 3 individual grapes.
Sauvignon Blanc / Selezione
Sauvignon Blanc is the grape that originally marked Friuli as a great white wine producing zone. Because it was already a grape known to produce outstanding whites, it was easy for the wonderful Friuli interpretations to gain world renown. Sauvignon in Friuli likes a cooler climate and clear mornings so Nicola chose to replant this varietal to an eastern facing slope in the Ruttars property.
This plot was ideal due to the high limestone content which allows the true nature of Sauvignon Blanc to arrive in the bottle. The high acidity levels of Sauvignon allow for brief cold skin maceration without losing any of the acidic vigor. After resting in 90% used oak barrels for a period of up to 10 months it is then bottled and in the best vintages a cellar barrel selection is made to produce the green label.
Collio Malvasia / Selezione Italo & Bruno
Malvasia was introduced to Friuli by Venetians who brought the ancient variety from Greece hundreds of years ago. The vine is extremely adaptable and produces beautiful lush grapes that are enjoyable to eat as well as make exceptional wine. Nicola was drawn to this varietal because of its soft and open qualities with powerful flavor and intense aromas.
The vineyard site from which the grapes are chosen was originally owned by 2 brothers, Italo and Bruno which are the names found on the green label bottling of the Collio Malvasia. This is only produced in the very best harvests from the oldest vines. This wine is exciting and luscious with smooth complexity and rich nuttiness on the palate. An extraordinary array of floral and stone fruits packed around higher tones of tropical guava and fresh cut pineapple. The Italo & Bruno is a sublime wine that lends itself to a broad range of savory to creamy dishes as well as jubilation and contemplation.
Collio Chardonnay / Selezione
Borgo del Tiglio’s Chardonnay comes from a small 40+ year old hillside vineyard located in between Brazzano and Ruttars on the Slovenian border called Ca’ della Vallade. The vineyard here is reddish marl locally called “carantan” and has a Southwest exposition. This particular site has a cooler climate as the valley where it lays is constantly influenced by the cold Bora winds from the Northeast.
This site is only planted to Chardonnay vines. In perfect climactic conditions the Selezione Green Label comes entirely from the upper part of the vineyard while in cooler vintages it is comprised from a blended selection of the top Chardonnay barrel lots. Grapes that are passed over for the green label will be used for the Chardonnay white label bottling.
