By his standards, these 20-year-old vines of Tocai Friulano planted by Dr. Robert Gross at his Johnson School site are middle-aged. (His original vineyard west of Portland — he now owns seven — was established in 1978.) In Italy, the variety is labeled simply as Friulano because of European Union restrictions. Elsewhere, it might be referred to as a Sauvignon Vert, even though there’s no genetic link to Sauvignon Blanc. Interestingly, our panel likened it a bit to Gewürztraminer because of its fun hints of Circus Peanuts in the nose and fleshy midpalate akin to a donut peach. Beyond those notes, however, it’s rather racy with slatiness and sweet herbal notes of fennel and anise. Its pleasing weight includes a slice of apple fritter before a finishing dash of chalkboard dust and nibble of apple peel. Last winter, the homeopathic physician was presented with the Oregon Wine Board’s Founders Award and applauded as the Pacific Northwest wine industry’s pioneer for Demeter-certified Biodynamic farming in 1999. This bottling from the 2021 vintage by the family’s longtime winemaker, Gilles de Domingo, earned a gold medal this fall at the 2023 Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition, a judging staged at the historic Columbia Gorge Hotel & Spa on behalf of West Coast wine buyers and sommeliers.
Rating: 92 points — Outstanding!
Production: 200 cases
Alcohol: 13%
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