Yesterday Franco Ziliani, well-known Italian wine critic and blogger (vinoalvino.org), published what I can only call an ode to Falanghina -- namely the Falanghina produced by the Mustilli family in the province of Avellino. (Link to article in Italian here.)
In the piece, Franco, pictured here, explores the various suggested etymologies of the word Falanghina, and then provides a bit of history of the grape, with its "modern era" starting with the research and advocacy of Leonardo Mustilli. (Blessed be he.)
I won't go into the etymological side of it, since the evidence that Franco presents -- like many others' before him -- strikes one as equivocal. To me it's Category We Really Don't Know. But that makes no difference to one's appreciation and enjoyment of one of the great white wine grapes of southern Italy. (Maybe one should just say Italy, no qualifiers.)
Anyway, allow me to translate Franco's enthusiastic review of the Mustilli Falanghina, with all my difficiencies as translator on display (spiacente!).
This wine is vinified in a very simple way. The grapes are hand-selected and -picked. Crushed immediately, the must is fermented in stainless steel at a controlled temperature for about two weeks and is subjected to frequent bâtonnages (stirring of the lees). When needed, a portion of the must undergoes malolactic fermentation. The wine ages at least three months in bottle.
This is an absolutely classic white that paired beautifully with orecchiette cooked with broccoli, anchovies and just the right amount of pepper that I had at Agricola del Sole.
My tasting "told" me this about the wine: A vibrant golden color, dry nose, focused, great backbone and elegance, intense and layered, with notes of citrus and orange blossom, hints of white peaches and apple and almond. Altogether a fragrant, zesty wine with a marked minerality.
When you first drink it, its attack is dry and clean, rapidly expanding on the palate with great freshness and richness. On the finish fills your mouth and has a rather long finish, all underlined by a wonderful acidity. This Falanghina has a load of energy and liveliness, making it a pleasure to match with your meal and, indeed, to be drunk as an ottimo aperitif.
Again, many thanks to Leonardo Mustilli for having rescued Falanghina and made it one of the key white wines of the South.
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