Pinot Bianco, in bocca al Lupo!

For the new year? In bocca al lupo!

I'm not the superstitious type, but saving this wine to uncork on December 31st was a temptation too strong to resist! I bought it online precisely because I was drawn in by the name and the label — yes, it happens to me too!

In bocca al Lupo is a pure Pinot Bianco produced in the Colli Orientali del Friuli by the winery "Le buse dal lof," which in the Friulian language means "The Wolf's Den" — a name derived from the area where this northeastern Italian estate is located.

Founded in 1972 thanks to the determination of Giuseppe Pavan, the winery is today run by Michele, who continues to introduce modernizations and innovations while respecting tradition.

The Pinot vineyards are cultivated using the guyot system on highly mineral soils; the harvest, strictly manual, takes place in August.

This wine is left in contact with the lees for four months using the bâtonnage technique, then aged in bottle for a further two months. The result is a fairly full-bodied wine at 13% alcohol, with considerable olfactory complexity.

It presents a straw-yellow color tending toward gold; on the nose it is highly mineral, with notes of hawthorn, elderflower, acacia, white peach, pink grapefruit, pink pepper, and a distant hint of sealing wax — in some respects reminiscent of a Sauvignon.

On the palate it is round, with excellent structure, very savory and moderately acidic — a highly persistent and well-rounded wine.

A small curiosity: some believe the expression "In bocca al lupo" originates from the she-wolf's habit of carrying her cubs in her mouth to transport and protect them. According to this interpretation of the phrase's origins, the proper response should not be "Crepi!" but simply a word of thanks!