The variety behind some of northeast Italy’s most exciting whites Friulano (formerly Tocai Friulano) landed in Australia in the 1970s. Quealy sourced its cuttings from the Mildura vineyard of Slovenian émigré Denis Pasut, grafting over a block of 1996 Chardonnay at the family’s Balnarring vineyard as early as 2003. Above all, quality Friulano needs two things: low yields and lots of attention. “Friulano is a bugger to work with, but well worth the effort,” as Tom McCarthy eloquently puts it.
Inspired by his father’s skinsy 2008 Claudius (under the T’Gallant label) and his time in northern Italy, Tom McCarthy’s Turbul is a careful selection of the estate’s ripest Friulano spontaneously fermented on skins in two 800-litre and one 300-litre terracotta amphorae. From a low-cropping year of incredible quality, 2023 Turbul Friulano left untouched until the first day of Spring. The juice and skins were basket-pressed before being racked to two used puncheons for a further 18 months of maturation. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered, with just a tiny amount of sulphur.
The most brightly coloured of the range, it’s fleshy and deep, overflowing with citrus, sage, quince and complex floral notes. The texture is surprisingly tight, driven by core of ripe acid and precise, delightfully chewy phenolics. Self-confident delivery and a tread of savoury spices on the close. It’s a beautiful wine to decant or drink over a couple of days to watch how it develops.