Korsic: the archaic pleasantness of simplicity

Korsic - Collio Bianco 2012 e Collio Rosso 2010

I often find myself browsing, whether for purchases or out of curiosity, the price list – or rather the range of wines produced by a winery – and I am increasingly astonished by the sheer number of labels that even small producers manage to churn out to satisfy the market, that strange beast the market, capable of creating and destroying in just a few years companies that lack the fundamentals, without an adequate history or planning.

The question then arises naturally: "but wouldn't specialization be advisable as a distinctive element for those with fewer than 10 hectares, compared to the competition? Three, let's say five wine types produced – couldn't that be a good compromise for recognizability and quality in an increasingly cannibalistic market and economic climate?"

The Korsic family did not start out as wine producers in Giabrana, in the province of Gorizia, straddling the Friulian Collio and the Slovenian Brda, but they have been there for over 150 years, working in hospitality, in the agricultural sector, and with the younger generations involved in vineyard planting across various parts of Italy.

Until about ten years ago, the grapes were delivered to the nearby cooperative of San Floriano; then came the decision to bottle their own product from 7 hectares of vineyard, tended naturally and with minimal intervention in the cellar.

Just two wines in the catalogue – thank God – both bottled in the classic Collio glass bottle with very squared shoulders and a long neck, grown at around 170 metres above sea level, enjoying the warm breezes from the Adriatic and the protection of the Julian Alps, as well as a soil composed of layered marl and sandstone.

The Collio Bianco is a blend of Friulano (50%), Ribolla Gialla (30%) and Chardonnay (20%), with controlled fermentation and hints of skin maceration for the Ribolla, all aged in steel and glass; blends are somewhat out of fashion, but in the Collio they have a history and a meaning – each variety contributes to the final result without distorting or forcing the whole.

Vintage 2012: still a straw-yellow colour with golden reflections today, everything is delicate and whispered, with a subtle olfactory approach: hawthorn, white peach, chives. On the palate it enters warm; served around 10°C its citrusy freshness and calcareous sapidity are best expressed. It is not a complex or greatly multifaceted sip, but one of disarming harmony, with good persistence over fleshy sensations of plum and yellow peach. It can be an excellent companion for lively aperitifs or for a decidedly delicate start to a meal.

The Collio Rosso, vintage 2010, is a blend predominantly of Merlot with a 5% component of Cabernet Franc. The vines, as with the white-berried grapes, have an average age of 25 years. The blend may raise the eyebrows of purists of the nouvelle vogue of drinking – all native varieties and single varietals – but I invite you to try this bottle with an open mind.

A shimmering ruby of fine chromatic concentration yet dynamic consistency, it opens with a nose of lively vegetal notes and fresh fruitiness: geranium root and a very tart marasca cherry emerge immediately, then it veers toward a pronounced balsamic quality and dehydrated flowers rather than spices.

On the palate, as with the white, it has a broad yet fluid entry; the acidic backbone supports the sip admirably. Despite the silkiness of the tannins softened by passage through exhausted barrique, this is a wine that has no pretension of being either complex or persistent, but of pairing admirably with the everyday table. It is a red to drink at 17/18°C in the evening alongside cured meats and medium-aged cheeses, but also cellar-cool at 15/16°C at a lovely outdoor lunch, accompanying fresh pasta with guanciale, pecorino, egg cream and wild fennel.

The obvious yet simple conclusion is to steer the forces of small producers toward a quality-focused production specialization rather than toward a proliferation of labels in the vain pursuit of the fickle market!