Nals-Margreid: Pinot Bianco Sirmian 1986 – 2016

BY IAN D'AGATA | JANUARY 9, 2018

Pinot Bianco is one of Italy’s best-kept secrets. Its close relative, Pinot Grigio, grabs all the attention and Pinot Bianco remains out of the limelight but the smart money knows to go looking for it. In fact, Italy is one of the best sources for Pinot Bianco wines anywhere in the world. Only parts of Austria and Germany make world class Pinot Bianco (Weissburgunder) wines comparable to those of the boot. Do not make the common mistake of thinking that Alsace makes great Pinot Bianco wines too: for the most part, it does not. This is because the vast majority of wines labeled Pinot Blanc (the French version of Pinot Bianco, but the two are one and the same) are in fact not made with Pinot Bianco at all but with Auxerrois, another grape variety altogether. In fact, Pinot Blancs from Alsace are either blends of the two grapes (Auxerrois almost always dominates the blend roughly by an 80-20 margin) or even 100% Auxerrois (100% Pinot Blanc wines are extremely rare there and few are noteworthy). Believe it or not, that’s not the only weird thing in the world of the Pinots.

The welcome at the very modern Nalles Magré winery

Pinot Bianco and Its Wines

I did not use the words “close relative” in referring to Pinot Grigio and Pinot Bianco at the beginning of this article by chance. Although I am starting to feel like someone working for Ripley’s, believe it or not (again) current scientific knowledge tells us that those two grapes are genetically identical. Wait, it gets better. Research also tells us that Pinot Nero (or Pinot Noir), is also identical to Pinot Bianco and Pinot Grigio. Clearly, that is not so, as there are obvious differences between those three grapes and their wines. This conundrum is the result of current genetic knowledge that does not allow us to discern differences that exist between the three genomes or that the genomes of the three varieties are made to work differently (just because the DNA looks alike does not mean it is made to work the same way). These observations have far reaching implications for many other varieties too, for example Italy’s Vermentino, Pigato and Favorita, also said to be genetically identical when the grapes don’t look anything alike and the wines don’t resemble each other much either.

In any case, unlike Pinot Grigio, which has a reddish-rusty skin color and can be made in a style that brings out that pigment, Pinot Bianco yields only white wines. Pinot Biancos are characterized by delicate aromas and flavors of white flowers, pomaceous orchard fruit, chamomile and beeswax. There is also a certain mellowness of flavor that is very typical of Pinot Biancos, especially when they are made from ripe grapes with healthy sugars. Pinot Biancos are never characterized by nostril-piercing or palate-burning levels of fruit intensity or acidity; rather they are all about refinement and balance (the good ones, at least). Some consumers prefer Pinot Grigio’s more obvious size and flavors, and pass Pinot Bianco by. However, only rarely does Pinot Grigio reach the levels of refinement that Pinot Bianco is capable of.

The original winery buildings at Nalles Magré in its mountainous setting