Founded in 1920 by Domenico Meroi in Buttrio, the heart of the Friuli Colli Orientali DOC in northeast Italy. Now run by Paolo Meroi, great-grandson of the founder, From the excellent terroir of the region, and their carefully tended organic vineyards, Paolo crafts some of Italy's most thrillingly complex white wines.
This the estate's top single vineyard Chardonnay, named Dominin after the nickname of it's founder. The unique soil known here as 'Ponca' (a kind of eocenic marl for the geology geeks) lends the wine a unique mineral profile, and south facing vineyards contribute full ripe fruit. Fermentation and ageing is completed in 100% new French barriques.
Fuller and yet more tightly wound than the estate Chardonnay, the Dominin reveals complex layers of white fruits, floral notes, spicy and woody oak and a firm saline mineral quality as it unfurls in the glass. The massive weight and concentration on the palate rivals the finest Chardonnay from anywhere in the world.