2024 Maculan, Pino and Toi, Veneto Bianco IGT, Italy.
The dry and crisply focused, pale straw hued Pino and Toi white from Maculan, made from 60% Tai, 25% Pinot Bianco and 15% Pinot Grigio is brightly fresh with lemon/lime, apple, white peach and subtle tropical fruit, along with bitter almond, verbena, wet stone, delicate white flowers and faint herbal notes in a light feeling medium bodied wine. Interesting, the Tai grape, most commonly known as Friulano, is a high-acidity, low-tannin white varietal found mainly in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and here in the neighboring Veneto regions of northeast Italy, producing dry wines with the notable almond, stone-fruit and herbal aromas seen here, white the Pinot Grigio and Pinot Blanc add some texture and depth, as well as the apple element. I believe this Maculan bottling, which I have enjoyed for more than twenty years now is the only wine I’ve had labeled as Tai and not Friulano, making it fun and nice drinking curiosity. Formerly called Tocai Friulano, but Italy had too change it to just Friulano or Tai, as not to confuse it with Tokay of Hungarian fame. Maculan soft presses the grapes, which come from vines in the Breganze hills on a combination of volcanic and tuffaceous (limestone) soils and ferments and ages the Pino and Toi in stainless steel tank for just 6 months to keep things fresh. This wine is certainly appealing, but it won’t blow your socks off, it will though offer you a sense of place and refresh your palate confidently.
The Cantina Maculan, as noted before here, is a small third generation family winery, that was founded in 1947 in Breganze, a small town in the Province of Vicenza, at the foothills of the famous Dolomites in the Northwest of the Veneto region, is widely known or most famous for its luscious golden hued Torcolato Vespaiola Passito sweet wine. Though it’s now the reds that are maybe the most serious here these days with their Fratta, made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot being at the top of the range here. Maculan makes wines from both native and “international” varieties, which have been introduced by the French and the Austrians in 1800, with long time plantings of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon being part of the winemaking traditions here. Fausto Maculan, who took over in the 1970s and made Maculan a benchmark producer in Italy, especially during the late 1990s and early 2000s, has now passed the baton to his daughters, with Angela, who I met recently, and Maria Vittoria Maculan continuing his legacy of world class wines. For this zesty Pino and Toi white, the winery suggests it is perfect as an apéritif starter or as a compliment to a salad, first courses, and with fish dishes and vegetarian fare. As I’ve said, I highly recommend Maculan, which still remains under the radar, with their entry level wines, both white, as seen here, and the Brentino Rosso (red) being exceptional values that are really worth looking for.
($18 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive