Movia Ribolla 2005

Unheard of grape varieties often find their way into wine geek nerd speak as those of us who drink and taste large amounts of wine often end up with somewhat jaded palates. Strange varieties can often challenge those palates in a new way. However, I also find that sometimes wine geeks can over-hype varieties that really aren't that interesting and underplay the classics. Luckily, however, this 'Ribolla' based wine from Movia is a pristine example of how indigenous varieties can produce absolutely stellar and singular wine when made well.

I was pointed to Movia by Sean of Vinifico who noted in his post that Movia has been family owned since 1820 and straddles the Italian and Slovenian border near the Friuli region of Italy. Furthermore, this winery has been biodynamic for the last 20 years.

The colour on this was quite interesting: golden yellow with hints of orange. The nose shows this wine's singularity with an impressive bevy of melon (honey dew and cantaloupe I would guess), quince, lemon rind and floral honey. The palate is extremely dry and shows stone, mineral, wood, earth, bitter citrus rind, bark and cardamom. I don't usually go for such a huge list of discriptors, but I wanted to try and impart how unique this wine really is - it does not fit into any standard flavour profile that you would expect from an Italian white. All these interesting flavours are layered on a more traditional backbone of vanilla and lavender. Amazingly, this paired tremendously well with Indian cuisine. Any wine geek who feels jaded with their recent tastings really owes it to themselves to seek out this Ribolla from Movia - it will wake up any tired palate.

Very Good+ to Excellent
$37 at Kits Wine Cellar