Doi Raps, Russolo

Doi Raps, RussoloPacked with surprisingly ripe fruit flavours of lychee, white peach, and candied lemon, the enchanting Doi Raps has so much character. The ripe fruit is joined by white flowers in bloom and a tingling, mineral finish. It's not very often you find such ripe flavours in this cool growing area of North East Italy, and it's this unusual combination that makes Doi Raps so delicious. Fruitiness offset by dancing acidity and a tiny, lingering touch of

Packed with surprisingly ripe fruit flavours of lychee, white peach, and candied lemon, the enchanting Doi Raps has so much character. The ripe fruit is joined by white flowers in bloom and a tingling, mineral finish. It's not very often you find such ripe flavours in this cool growing area of North-East Italy, and it's this unusual combination that makes Doi Raps so delicious.

Fruitiness offset by dancing acidity and a tiny, lingering touch of sweetness greets you on the finish, making you grab for more of the bottle. This is a blend of three grapes, with Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Blanc altogether in equal parts. White blends are common in this part of the world, owing in part to traditional viticulture in which grape varieties were not isolated and grown separately, wine was made according to vineyards that had natural mixes of varieties within.

'Doi Raps' is the local dialect for two bunches, and the name refers to the fact that only two bunches of grapes are left to ripen on each vine. Because of this lack of competition between the bunches, the two that are left benefit from all of the energy and nutrients from the vine, allowing them to develop to unusual ripeness. It's this technique that gives the Doi Raps such concentrated flavours and such personality. 

In Friuli Grave, a large appellation in the West of Friuli, the Russolo family have been producing wine for decades. Today it is Rino and his brother Iginio, who cultivate grapes on just 17 hectares of Friulian land. The gravelly soil here, similar to that in Bordeaux, means the water runs freely and the soils warm quickly. All of this helps ripen grapes and create wine styles that are quite unique in the North of Italy.