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In 1956, Giuseppe Bensa purchased a small piece of land in the Oslavia subzone of the Collio DOC area to produce wine for sale at his local inn. In the late 70s, his sons, Giorgio and Niccol, assumed direction of the estate. Over the last few years, this estate’s initial two-wine production (one red and one white) has evolved into a varied presentation that includes a number of varietal bottlings. All wines are aged in oak, with each wine vinified according to its innate nature and the specific character of a given vintage. Varietal character is privileged across the estate’s prolific white portfolio, with the oak providing an incisive and deferential supporting role, and the wines are held back from release until each reaches the viable stage for drinking. Ribolla Gialla is one of Friuli’s oldest indigenous vines, and enjoyed the distinction of serving as the drink of choice—under the name Rabiola del Collio—in the Republic of Venice. Although this aromatic, robust, and late-ripening varietal is obscured by both Pinot Grigio and Tocai, the preferred grapes of the international and local scenes, respectively, it enjoys flattering representation in the work of Friuli’s iconoclastic producers. Known as Rebula in Slovenia and Robola in Greece, Ribolla wines are generally dry and buttery, possessing good acidity in their youth. However, age moderates this grape’s juvenile vivacity and many age well, developing a mature richness.
- Country: Italy
- Region: Friuli-Venezia Giulia
- Subregion/Appellation: Collio Goriziano
In 1956, Giuseppe Bensa purchased a small piece of land in the Oslavia subzone of the Collio DOC area to produce wine for sale at his local inn. In the late seventies, his sons, Giorgio and Niccolò, assumed direction of the estate. Over the last few years, this estate's initial two-wine production (one red and one white) has evolved into a varied presentation that includes a number of varietal bottlings. All wines are aged in oak, with each wine vinified according to its innate nature and the specific character of a given vintage. Varietal character is privileged across the estate's prolific white portfolio, with the oak providing an incisive and deferential supporting role, and the wines are held back from release until each reaches the viability stage for drinking.
The Bensas entered the cult ranks with the release of Bianco della Castellada, a blend of Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc (Tocai Friulano may also be a constituent) that became one of the defining wines of Friuli's Super-Whites category (comprising complex, full-bodied blends of both indigenous and international varietals that may be treated exclusively in stainless steel or fermented and aged in wood). While they still produce their highly lauded Sauvignon and Chardonnay, like the neighboring Josko Gravner, the Bensas intend to reserve monovarietal production exclusively for Ribolla Gialla—the favored varietal of Friuli's iconoclasts—in future vintages, as they believe that a blend offers the prospect for greater creative latitude than a single varietal bottling.
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