By John Rozentals.
I wrote last week about the South Australian district of McLaren Vale doing very nicely of late with a couple of southern European red varieties.
This week I’m staying in McLaren Vale but focusing on fiano, a new Italian white variety for the district and Australia.
“Our fiano journey is around 18 years old, but the variety itself has been around for several thousand years,” said Coriole’s founder, Mark Lloyd.
“Thick-skinned, highly fragrant and refreshing natural acidity make this an extremely welcome addition to Australia’s winemaking scene.
“We kicked off fiano’s journey in Australia and I’m not exaggerating when I say that the 2018 is our finest vintage yet.”
Well said, Mark, and I agree with you heartily.
The variety is more than welcome here and will produce some great Australian dry whites … and be blended, judiciously of course, into some great Australian dry reds.
WINE REVIEWS
Coriole 2018 Fiano ($28): A marvellously fresh, some would say simple, dry white wine, but all the better for its simplicity. If you like young semillon or sauvignon blanc, do yourself a favour and try this. It’s a great match for fettuccine carbonara, so try a bottle over the kitchen table or take some to your favourite Italian bistro. You won’t regret it — just tell the wait staff that I sent you.
Coriole 2018 Shiraz Fiano ($32): Australians are getting used to dry reds made from shiraz with a touch of viognier, a perfumed white variety. It’s something that this critic still struggles with, the viognier being perhaps a little too perfumed for a task that fiano seems to do admirably. The result of the blend is a fresher red than normal, tending towards the medium- rather than full-bodied — good one.
WINE OF THE WEEK
Coriole 2018 Rubato Fiano ($32): music lovers may know the term ‘rubiato’ means to play freely or with abandon. In the words of the accompanying press release, this wine celebrates fiano’s textural qualities. The grapes were picked a little riper and received more time on skins to encourage extraction, and the wine was then fully fermented in seasoned oak barrels. I can feel a new favourite white coming on.
