The Forgotten 40 Yr Old Tocai Friulano

So the story goes – Kenny Likitprakong, UC Davis Grad and owner of Hobo Wine Company, receives a call in 2011 from an unknown person. This person, later called John Thomas, wanted to sell Kenny grapes but avoided the fact of the variety. Once Kenny heard they were 40 year old Tocai Friulano vines on a 3 acre parcel opted to be replanted with Chardonnay without a buyer he immediately sought out the vineyard. We’re drinking the wine now so we known how the story ended.

The old Tocai receives the standard (or lack of) Kenny touch – slow fermentation and no commercial yeasts or nutrients. Let’s all give Kenny a big thank you for saving these vines and allowing the grapes and terroir to naturally express themselves.

The wine is pale, lemon-green in colour with no signs of sediment or gas. First whiff of this wine expresses an apparent “funk”, a mix of petrol, farmyard and yeast. Once you get past the first WHOA of smell there’s nice lemon citrus, almond and green pear. While the alcohol is quite low (11.1%) the body isn’t. There’s a full mouthfeel and weight to the wine, but certainly not flabby from it’s medium plus acidity. Citrus flavours show through more of lemon and grapefruit, lots of salt, along with pear, green apple, almond, and again that funk. Highly balanced and marked length. This wine is not for everyone, but it keeps the wine nerd (and my Italian girlfriend) coming back until the whole bottle is finished.