Cantina Terlano from Alto Aldige. My boss gave me 2 bottles of Terlan’s Quartz 2004 vintage last year from her cellar, both were absolutely amazing. The Quartz is a 100% Sauvignon Blanc & behaves more like a great white Bordeaux in it’s complexity & ability to age. Young, it’s very mineral driven, herbal with green citrus. Aged, it becomes filled with tropical fruits & citrus but, still mineral driven and fresh. They also have their Nova Domus bottle which is mostly Chardonnay but, also has Pinot bianco & Sauvignon Blanc in the mix. I’ve enjoyed this wine many times young but, haven’t had it aged. Terlan’s entry level bottlings are no slouchs either
You might want to include top cuvées of Franciacorta from Cà del Bosco, Ferghettina or Bellavista or maybe some killer Talento from Arunda or Ferrari as a starter…
+1 on Terlano!
I might have the spelling a little off but, Abbazia de Novacella would be another producer from Alto Aldige I would look. That Quatz defiantly pick up a good amount of richness and weight with age. Just brings back great memories of how good it was. Terlano Quartz & Chevalier Blanc are by far my favorite 2 higher end bottlings of Sauv. Blanc based whites
I find that many of the very best Italian whites have too short a history to be deemed collectibles already. I am surprised no one mentioned Gaja’s exquisite but absurdly expensive Gaia & Rey. I would rather have ten Terlano Quarz myself, for essentially the same price as one bottle of Gaia, especially considering the former’s impressive ageability, but am hard pressed to concede that the Terlano qualifies as “collectible”. I am also partial to Cervaro and love them with some age. I can still taste the extraordinary 2004 Mastroberardino Greco di Tufo Nova Serra I had last summer – amazing stuff. Lastly, keep in mind some ridiculously good, and ageworthy, dessert wines such as those of Maculan (though one of their best is from red grapes, now that I think about it). Salute.
Finally, you might look for Silvio Jermann [Vintage Tunina]:
Tunina has been collectable for a long time, at least in Europe. Friuli has long been considered Italy’s best white wine district, but not much heard about in the States.
By ‘collectible’ do you mean cultish or wines that one can collect to age? Besides the expensive ones mentioned above (Miani, Valentini, Pepe) there are many that can age and age well. Caracicante’s from Sicily should be long-agers, but many producers have only really begun making these in the last decade, but I think they can age for 20 years or so. The Bucci Riserva is indeed a very nice bottle, especially the 2001’s that I’ve had. Skip Giacosa’s arneis, unless you plan to drink it within the next couple of years (it does not age). The whites from Alto-Adige do indeed age very well. One problem is that a lot of these wines will be hard to find post-market, but you probably knew that.
We tasted a vertical of Carricante going back 15 years at a natural wine fair in Italy two years ago. FANTASTIC stuff. Older Etna Bianco is rocking too…
This was the one and only that came to my mind. To be fair, however, Italian wines are not frequently appearing on our table. (need to change that!)
Edi Kante sauvignon blanc from Friuli
Friuli is chock FULL of such cantine:
Kante, Radicon, Ronco del Gelso, Miani, Vie de Romans, Dorigo, Schioppetto, Polincic, many, many more
Roberto,
I tasted the full lineup of Ronco del Gelso in Italy last fall. They absolutely ROCK.
Here’s one that blew me away just a few weeks ago:
2010 Borgo del Tiglio (Nicola Manferrari) Collio Studio di Bianco - Italy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Collio
[Jeremy brought this and has written this delightful post about its origins: Borgo del Tiglio one of Italy’s greatest white wines (& the ancient cult of the linden tree) | Do Bianchi] Wonderfully complex nose of lemon custard, spice and sea shells. Incredibly complex in the mouth. One of the most stunning and complex young white wines I have had. (96 points)
All already mentioned but i have to agree with the following: Older Valentini Trebbiano, Gravner, Radikon, the high end Terlano like the Sauvignon Quarz, and the Fiorano whites are truly amazing…think only Italian Wine Merchants in NYC have them now…Rare Wine Co had some back in the 80s…this are unique and well worth the try. Look forward to reading about what you end up getting.
PS: i think the Gaja whites are way over priced for what you get…and the Antinori Cervaro is an Umbrian Chardonnay blend that does improve with age but is still not up to the hype either IMHO.
Cheers, Bob
Josko Gravner, as mentioned. In the solid wine cateogry, Giacosa Roero Arneis, as mentioned, Romano Clelia “Colli di Lapio” Fiano di Avellino, anything from Michele Alois, Donnafugata Chiaranda. For dessert, Avignonesi Vin Santo, Dorigo Picolit, di Bartoli Bukkuram.
Amazing thread topic - don’t think I’ve ever seen this subject covered before, actually.
One of the most stunning Bianchi I have ever tasted is the Greco di Tufo from Toricino di Stefano di Marzo.
It’s like you are sucking on Mt. Vesuvius’ nipple: rocks, sulfur in a good way, citrus rind, smoke…
Another fun fact is that 95% of Soave produced is thin industrial crap but the other 5% is probably 25% of the great whites of Italy: Inama, Pra, Anselmi, Pieropan, I Campi, Villa Erbice, Coffele, La Cappucina are all making outstanding wines and that’s just a start.
As far as I know they only did this once but we sold 60 bottles of this for $80 in two days with this offer in 1999:
Cantina Terlano Pinot Bianco Riserva 1988 $79.99
(just released, really!)
We have often noted that the German speaking vintners of Northern Italy’s Mountains are some of the most SERIOUS winemakers we’ve ever encountered, but this one takes the cake: old vine, low yield, crisp and minerally Pinot Bianco fermented in stainless steel tanks then aged on the lees (dead yeast cells and other fermentation solids) in those same time-capsule-like vessels for NINE YEARS before bottling!
The result is one of the most complex (non-sparkling) white wines we have ever tasted, inspiring the Guida Vini D’Italia to proclaim “an extraordinary wine, the Pinot Bianco ‘88 (yes, ‘88: in Alto Adige only this winery comes up with wines so long lived) is a wine of amazing aromatic richness and opulence. In the mouth it offers mature depth and elegance.”
We just got off the phone with a COMPETING importer who said “That wine is incredible, no one else would have the courage to bring that to LA, save me two bottles!” And, for those not yet convinced, here is e-mail from the wine scribe of a national magazine: “I am a very, very weak man. Faced with monstrous closing costs on our new home, still paying off our honeymoon and then learning that my wife has just bought a goddamned horse, I nonetheless cripple up at the mere mention of the '88 Cantina Terlano Pinot Bianco. I won’t be greedy. Just one bottle for me”.
Yes, this is the most expensive white wine we’ve ever sold but it’s really just about “entry level serious” for White Burgundy, no?
Roberto, I love the Terlan Vorberg Riserva. That wine changed the way I look at Northern Italian whites.
I’ve had one or two bottles of aged Ronco del Gnemiz whites that were truly stunning.
Also, I agree with many of the previous suggestions, e.g., Valentini, Pepe, Radikon(!!!), Bea’s Arboreus, Pieropan (both the La Rocca, which has been mentioned, and the Calvarino, which hasn’t).