Zidarich Vitovska Venezia-Giulia Bianco 2020
Zidarich Vitovska Venezia-Giulia Bianco 2020
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Zidarich Vitovska Venezia-Giulia Bianco 2020

Zidarich
$44.00

Grape: Malvasia
Vintage: 2020
Type: Orange

Running through all of Zidarich's wines is a driving, dancing, powerful yet balletic minerality-an essence of pure stone. Even in wines made from more assertive, aromatic varieties like Malvasia and Sauvignon, it is the limestone that takes center stage. They combine invigorating liveliness and profound, contemplative mineral heft like few other wines on Earth, capturing both the gleaming sunshine of his high-altitude vineyards and the cool depth of his cellar.

Aged for 2 years in large Slavonian casks, the Vitovska is a seamless, deeply stony wine. Its fruit character veers toward apricot and peach, yet in a subtle way—the limestone is doing the heavy lifting here, with the Vitovska serving as a mere vessel for the unfettered expression of rock. The wine finishes clean and long, with a sensation of almost mentholated coolness ringing on the palate long after swallowing. Whatever subtle tannins are present are melded beautifully with the palate-staining minerality, and the overall impression is one of freshness, complexity, and drive. A bold, uplifting, utterly delicious wine.

 

Zidarich is Benjamin Zidarich's biodynamic estate in the Carso, the limestone plateau above Trieste where vines struggle through iron-rich red earth and fractured rock. Beginning with one hectare in 1988, Benjamin expanded the domaine while centering it on Vitovska, the region's emblematic white grape, alongside Malvasia, Sauvignon and the local red Teran. His five-level cellar is carved deep into the limestone beneath the vineyards and allows wine to move largely by gravity. Extended skin contact, native fermentation and patient aging produce textured, savory wines whose salt, herbs and mineral grip feel inseparable from the harsh, wind-shaped landscape.