I recently enjoyed a fantastic lunch at Passione Vino, sampling wine with Erika Barbieri, oenologist at Collio estate Tenuta Stella.
Twenty-five years ago, I worked in the building directly opposite for nearly nine years. In those days, liquid lunches and beer ruled, and it was a hard task to find wines of high quality in this part of London, near Old Street Station. Fast forward to today, and Passione Vino, an Italian wine importer/supplier with a boutique wine shop and bar, was the perfect setting to enjoy these delicious wines which they also sell.
Collio Goriziano DOC (more often known simply as Collio DOC) is a crescent moon-shaped enclave of north-east Friuli-Venezia-Giulia on the Slovenian border. It's situated between the Julian Alps to the north, Slovenian mountains to the east and the Adriatic Sea to the south. The climate is mild, characterised by warm air and sea breezes during the day and cool air at night, with mountains protecting vineyards from colder winds.
The ponca soil, a mixture of ancient layered marl and sandstone filled with sea fossils, nourishes the vines and wines are often characterised by salinity, minerality and a flinty tang.
Stellar by name and stellar by nature, Tenuta Stella, specialises in producing organic wines from grape varieties native to Collio. Volumes are small, while quality is high, and the wines show good concentration and incredible versatility with many different types of food.
Founded in 2009, the estate is located in Scriò in the municipality of Dolegna, less than 40km from the Adriatic Sea. Vineyards lie at 150-270m above sea level in one of the highest parts of the appellation. Starting with a 5-hectare vineyard, there are now 15 hectares of vines out of 38 hectares, the remainder devoted to woodland.
Since its inception, Tenuta Stella has adopted a sustainable approach, avoiding pesticides and chemical fertilisers and, since the 2016 harvest, the winery has been certified organic. Water consumption is limited to the minimum necessary for washing equipment, while vineyards are not irrigated. By-products from the winemaking process - stems, pomace and lees - are used as compost in the vineyards and bottle labels are all made from recycled paper. Tenuta Stella also has DiversityArk certification, a system which monitors soil health and biodiversity.
Erika Barbieri, oenologist and Alberto Faggiani, CEO at Tenuta Stella
Around 86% of grapes in Collio are white. Two of the most widely grown are Friulano and Ribolla Gialla.
Friulano (previously known as Tocai Friulano) is known for its refreshing bitter almond character, delicate fruit and herbaceous touches with low acidity and a saline quality. Ribolla Gialla is a more acidic variety with gentle floral aromatics and often shows fleshy fruit notes and a citric edge.
Extra complexity comes from ageing these grapes on their skins. Additionally, the winery's style is to mature their wines for several months in bottle before releasing on the market.
Tenuta Stella wines with rabbit ragout
Despite the benefits of their geographical location and terroir, producers in the region are not immune to the effects of climate change. For example, in 2023, because of a hailstorm at the end of July, Tenuta Stella lost 55% of its crop and the harvest was also delayed by two weeks. This contrasts with 2022 which was characterised by a lack of water from the middle of May until the middle of August. However, Erika Barbieri believes that organic methods have helped during times of drought. "Having organic agriculture and no irrigation", she says, "for us the lack of water is not such a problem, because the vines are very confident. They're rooted very deeply in the soil, so are able to survive. The problem with climate change for us at the moment is the unpredictability. In the past, a storm or very strong winds that caused damage happened every ten years. Now, it's every five years and getting closer … and each summer in a different area, there is this kind of problem."
At the lunch, Erika led a tasting of a selection of four white and one red wine, all available in the UK from Passione Vino.
Tenuta Stella wines are made with wild yeasts only, apart from two sparkling wines which use organic commercial yeast for secondary fermentation. They also all undergo malolactic conversion, despite the high pH of the ponca soil, which Erika explains brings extra roundness and flavour to the Friulano in particular.
This wine spent 12 months ageing, with 50% in French oak and 50% in stainless steel. It has around 5% of Ribolla Gialla Riserva orange wine blended in to add roundness and texture.
🍇 Grapes: 100% Ribolla Gialla.
🎚️ ABV: 12%.
👃 Nose: Zesty and aromatic with notes of orange and dried flowers.
😋 Palate: Notes of orange zest and herbs with hints of cinnamon, dried chamomile, jasmine tea and a delicate phenolic touch on the finish.
🍽️ Food Pairings: Particularly good with grilled fish dishes and goats milk cheeses.
💳 Retail price at Passione Vino: £39.
This wine was fermented and aged in stainless steel.
🍇 Grapes: 100% Friulano.
🎚️ ABV: 12.5%.
👃 Nose: Aromatic and floral with notes of stone fruit, almond, white flowers and wet stones.
😋 Palate: Mineral, slightly saline and rounded with notes of white peach, apricot, a hint of caramel and a slight tingle of white pepper on the finish.
🍽️ Food Pairings: Particularly good with a variety of fish dishes, including sushi and fried fish.
💳 Retail price at Passione Vino: £37.
This orange wine is made from a selection of grapes grown on the higher part of the estate and harvested a week or two later than the grapes used for the regular Ribolla Gialla. The wines spent around 30 days macerating on its skins, before ageing in tonneaux for 12 months and in large barrels for a further 10 months. It has not been released to the market yet and is expected to age very well.
🍇 Grapes: 100% Ribolla Gialla.
🎚️ ABV: 13%.
👃 Nose: Rich and fruity with notes of pear, apricot, citrus, marmalade and a touch of breadcrumbs.
😋 Palate: Notes of yellow plum, caramelised orange and a phenolic edge up front with soft tannins, touches of minerality and salinity plus a hint of grated hazelnuts. A refreshing tang of marmalade then carries on to the finish.
🍽️ Food Pairings: This worked particularly well with the ragù di coniglio (rabbit ragout) on paccheri pasta served at Passione Vino, but will also pair successfully with blue cheeses.
💳 Retail price at Passione Vino: £69.
This orange wine spent 10 days macerating on its skins, before two years' ageing in large oak barrels.
🍇 Grapes: 100% Friulano.
🎚️ ABV: 14%.
👃 Nose: Aromatic and floral with hints of jasmine, white peach, citrus and spice.
😋 Palate: Rich, juicy and mineral with orchard and stone fruit notes, aromatic herbs and a hint of quince jelly with a white pepper tingle on the finish.
🍽️ Food Pairings: This wine pairs well with aged and blue cheeses or fish soup.
💳 Retail price at Passione Vino: £81.
This IGT red wine is made mainly from four native grapes (not authorised under Collio DOC regulations), the percentage of each changing every vintage. It spent one year ageing in barriques before a further ten months in large oak barrels.
🍇 Grapes: Blend of Pignolo, Schioppettino, Refosco, Tazzelenghe and 10% Merlot.
🎚️ ABV: 13.5%.
👃 Nose: Fruity, fresh and balsamic with notes of cherry, berries and spice plus hints of chocolate and graphite.
😋 Palate: Similar notes carry on to the palate with added touches of Mediterranean herbs and Szechuan peppercorns plus a hint of star anise. Tannins are high at the moment, so this wine will benefit from further ageing in bottle.
🍽️ Food Pairings: Particularly good with red meat dishes.
💳 Retail price at Passione Vino: £40.
This is not an exhaustive list of Tenuta Stella wines, but they clearly indicate the high quality level that the winery espouses.
The Collio region is well worth a visit and you can find more information in a previous article on The Write Taste and on the Consorzio Tutela Vini Collio website.
