With just three rows of vines, Malvasia Istriana represents the smallest planting of any variety at Quealy. In Friuli, Malvasia is renowned for lending weight and aromatic intensity to blends and straight bottlings. The same goes for the Mornington expression.
The grapes fermented and matured in a small, one-tonne steel tank until the first day of spring. The wine was then pressed off skins, and only the soft pressings were sent to seasoned barrels for maturation until the wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered in February this year. Like time itself, oxygen plays a huge role in this quality here, ensuring stability at low levels of sulphur (the free SO2 is about 1.5 g/hl). It’s a rich golden colour and teems with sweet citrus, bruised red apples, honey blossoms and a sweet bakery lift of frangipani and biscuits. The palate is full, fleshy and mouthcoatingly savoury, with a fresh, sweet-citrus cut and thrust and a lovely, rich lick of oxidative nuttiness on the lengthy finish. Terrific wine, terrific value.