Jermann Vintage Tunina 2015

“ …the most extraordinary meditation wine in existence.

Not in the passive sense (wine to drink while meditating),

but in the active sense: it is a wine that makes you meditate…”

— Cesare Pillon, Civiltà del Bere

No wine more beautifully expresses the past, present and future of Italian wine than Vintage Tunina, made by Silvio Jermann from his vineyard in the Dolegna del Collio in the far northeast region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

Like Michelangelo’s David, or a heroic Verdi aria, Vintage Tunina will transport you. It smashes the icons of the past to create something wholly exciting. It doesn’t taste like California Chardonnay — nor white Burgundy — and not Sauv Blanc — nor Italian Pinot Grigio. Vintage Tunina is, in every sense of the Latin, sui generis—truly unique. It’s in a class all its own.

Silvio Jermann, like the great pioneers who created Super Tuscans, broke with the old conventions of making wine. After apprenticeships across Europe and in the United States, Silvio resolved to follow a simple yet profound idea: that traditional grapes growing in old Italian vineyards can make stupendous white wine. Vintage Tunina is made with grapes that have been flourishing in a 16-hectare single vineyard for over a century. This is a bona fide field blend, and it delivers all the greatness Silvio hoped for.

Jermann Vintage Tunina is a white wine of massive structure and density — not like any white wine made in Italy — or anywhere else in the world. Its color is gold. Its aromas are intense. Its palate is velvety, full, concentrated, complete. It is as complex, as rich and as persistent as any red wine.

The Friulano grape provides dramatic texture and depth: It’s what makes Vintage Tunina drink like a red wine.  The closest example produced in the U.S. is full-bodied Chardonnay.  Yet while most Chardonnays gain weight via oak, Friulano’s depth is all its own with aromas of quince, chamomile, lovage, ginger and sweet malt revealing its exceptional character.  Picolit is wild at heart, and it gives Vintage Tunina its striking yellow peach, lychee candy note.  Ribolla lends drive and singularity, the penetrating focus that pushes the flavors to monumental heights.  Malvasia is all texture, its rich sensuousness as easy to put on as a cardigan sweater, as sweetly discreet as a walk on the sunny side of the street.

As magnificent as Vintage Tunina is today, it will mesmerize you in new and different ways for many years to come. It’s like no white wine you’ve ever had before. And it is not to be missed!

Critical Acclaim:

“94 points.

“This wine’s tomato vine, passion fruit, white stone fruit and herb aromas jump out of the glass. The delicious, elegantly restrained palate delivers grapefruit, white peach, apple and mineral flavors alongside fresh acidity. A tangy lemon-drop note backs up the long, lingering finish.” – Wine Enthusiast

“94 points.

“The nose of this white is extremely refined, offering up green apples, thyme, preserved lemons, pine needles, dried citrus rind and beeswax. The palate digs deep with beautiful phenolic texture, a fine line of acidity, layers of fruit and a long finish.” – James Suckling