Roccafiore Fiorfiore Grechetto – A Beauty

100% Grechetto di Todi from Todi, Umbria, Italy. The wine spends 12 months in large Slavonian oak barrels and 4 months in bottle prior to release

Available for as low as $19. 16,000 bottles produced. Sample submitted for review.

From the winery:

“The excellence of Roccafiore’s wines is the result of the particular topography of the area, a terroir which favors the production of selected grapes of excellent health and the best quality. Along with the harmony of nature, the work of skilled winemakers is the real guarantee of products of great value. Prestigious wines are produced with the advice of winemaker Hartmann Donà who, following the oenological traditions of Umbria, decided to cultivate native wine varieties. Grechetto di Todi and Trebbiano Spoletino, as well as Sangiovese, Sagrantino and Montepulciano.

13.5% Alcohol”

When we think of Italian wine we always seem to default to reds, but Italy also makes some impressive, mineral-driven white wines offering a level of complexity you don’t always find, in say, wines from California. Grechetto, a white wine grape grown all over Umbria in Central Italy, is one such example. The grape is used as part of the blend for the excellent wines from Orvieto but single varietal offerings like today’s pick offer a real treat.

The 2012 Roccafiore Fiorfiore Grechetto begins with a very pleasant aroma of green apple, pear, a little pineapple and honeysuckle. Tasting reveals a lively, crisp mouthfeel; very good balance, and nice acidity. The primary flavors are lemon, green apple, pear and a little pineapple just like the nose, but they are all soaked in delicious honey in the mouth. With almond and a touch of butter, this tastes a bit like a mineral-driven Chardonnay. The long, complex finish is where this wine really shines — it’s so good you can’t help but take another sip.

See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.