TN: Two Friuli Skin-Contact Whites...(short/boring)

Tried these two skin-contact whites over the weekend:

  1. Kante Malvasia IGT: Venezia Giulia (13%; U; KermitLynch) EdiKante/Prepotto 2013: Light gold color; quite fragrant low-key muscatty floral/dandelions slight phenolic/resiny bit earthy/chalky very attractive nose; quite tart/tangy light muscatty/Malvasia/floral/dandelions very light phenolic/resiny bit lean/wirey/tense/stony flavor; very long light floral/Malvasia/dandelions quite tangy light phenolic/resiny bit chalky/stony rather dry/austere/slightly bitter finish; has lost some of its perfumey Malvasia character and rather lean/high-tension/nervy on the palate; clearly a skin-contact white w/ only minimal maceration. $42.00 (BWM)

  1. Kabaj Ravan/Sauvignonasse GoriskaBrda (12.5%; www.Kabaj.Si; BlueDanubeImports) Jean-Michel Morel & Katja Kabaj/Dobrovo 2013: Med.light gold color; rather fragrant apple/pear/floral/carnations/Friulano some phenolic/resiny rather complex quite interesting nose; somewhat tart some phenolic/resiny bit austere/tannic rather savory/saline/stony light Friulano/pear/apple/floral bit complex flavor w/ slight tannic bite; long light phenolic/resiny some apple/pear/Friulano/floral rather saline/savory bit complex finish w/ light tannic bite; a quite attractive savory Friulano w/ nice balance between phenolic & fruit character; quite an interesting rendition of Friulano. $24.95 (BDWC)

A wee BloodyPulpit:

  1. Kabaj: Ravan is the local name in Dobrovo for Sauvignonasse, which used to be known as TokaiFriulano, until the Hungarians objected that it was too easily confused w/ Hungarian Tokaji. Yeah…sure!! Jean-Michel Morel, from Burgundy, married into the Kabaj family & now makes the wines. Most/all of the whites are made w/ skin-contact. He makes an Amfora line that has more/extended skin-contact. They can be a bit on the pricey side, but are consistently quite good.

  1. Kante: This Malvasia is made from the Malvasia d’Istriana grape, or Malvasia d’Istarka in Croatia. Rather than the more common in Calif & elsewhere Malvasia Bianca, which has a more intense muscatty character. It’s a grape than can, in the right hands, make an outstanding Malvasia.
    When we visited SandiSkerk in Prepotto, I noticed that the EdiKante wnry, a much grander property, was right across the street from Sandi’s wnry.

  1. Like many/most skin-contact whites; these are best served at cool room temperature and really demand food to tame the austere tannic character they can often have. With my pizza-flavored/salami sausage from DrFieldGoods Butcher Shop, these two were a real pleasure to drink.
    Tom

I can imagine you getting a shock from the Kante, similar to those old B&W movies where a bearded man looks at the camera, touches something electric and a cloud of smoke goes ~POOF~…