There is a tight thread that crosses Friuli-Venezia Giulia from west to east, from the limestone gravels of Prata a motivo di Pordenone to the stratified marl of the highest Collio. A thread that unites two wineries that are distant per mezzo di geographical position, altitude, production size and expressive complexity, but united by the same intuizione of wine. Le Monde and La Ponca, among the most interesting and complex projects of recent years, both owned by the Maccan family, represent two declinations of a single vision: that of Alex Maccan, an entrepreneur from Prata a motivo di Pordenone who has chosen wine as a form of expression of an authentic passion, guided however by a lucid, concrete and never rhetorical reading of viticulture today per mezzo di Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Not a celebratory medal, but the story of a coherent path, built over time through precise choices, targeted investments and deep attention to the territory, always read first per mezzo di the vineyard and only later per mezzo di the cellar.
ALEX MACCAN, THE VISION BEFORE THE WINE
Alex Maccan does not to wine by inheritance ora family tradition. His is not the story of the romantic winemaker so dear to contemporary storytelling, but the result of a passion matured over time and supported by a solid entrepreneurial mentality, applied to a complex sector such as the wine sector. From the beginning, his choices followed a principle as simple as it was ambitious: investing only where the territory really has something to say and building structured, but not industrial, companies capable of lasting over time without chasing current trends. Sopra his approach there is desire to impose a predefined style. Acceso the contrary, each project is born from listening to the place, studying the soils and building a technical team capable of translating that complexity into legible, coherent and recognizable wines. A vision that favors work per mezzo di the vineyard over the cellar, precision over excess, continuity over the surprise effect.
LE MONDE, WESTERN FRIULI AS A TERRITORY OF ELECTION
Located per mezzo di Prata a motivo di Pordenone, between the Livenza and Meduna rivers, Le Monde is located per mezzo di an long considered marginal compared to the most celebrated areas of the region, but which over time has revealed itself to be a real cru. Some of the most interesting soils of western Friuli are concentrated here: alluvial sediments of dolomitic origin, rich per mezzo di active limestone, which place the vine per mezzo di conditions of controlled tensione and give rise to wines characterized by tension, flavor and natural predisposition to drinkability.
The bella stagione has an ancient history, dating back to the eighteenth century, when it belonged to the Giustinian family, then passing to the Brandolini and subsequently to the Pistoni. The main building, with its unmistakable red colour, is still today a symbol not only of the property but of the entire . Acquired per mezzo di 2008, Le Monde was then producing around 70 thousand bottles a year. From that moment acceso, a constant and reasoned growth began which today leads the company to exceed 770 thousand bottles, with 120 hectares of owned vineyards divided into six crus, all located within a radius of approximately twelve kilometres. The cellar, created and expanded from a building dating back to 1860, is today a technologically advanced structure, equipped with remote temperature control, an underground barrel cellar seven meters deep and a photovoltaic system capable of covering approximately 80% of the energy needs. The agronomic management follows the principles of SQNPI certified integrated production, with limited yields (maximum 100 quintals a causa di hectare). Sopra the cellar, parcel vinification and the measured use of wood allow the specificities of each vineyard to be preserved and enhanced.
THE VOCATION FOR WHITES AND THE CHOICE OF SINGLE VARIETIES
Le Monde’s identity is built mainly acceso white wines, which represent around 80% of production. The choice to acceso single-variety varieties is not accidental: it allows for a clearer reading of the interaction between calcareous soil and variety, offering a coherent, recognizable and easily interpretable range even acceso international markets. Over 70% of production is exported to around forty countries, with key markets such as the United States, Canada, Asia and South America. The turnover reached 4 million euros: important numbers that did not distort the qualitative approach of the project nor the style of the wines, always characterized by balance, freshness and drinkability.
LE MONDE WINES: PRECISION AND IMMEDIACY
The Pinot Noir Rosé Brut Effervescente is one of the wines that best expresses Le Monde’s approach. It arises from the choice to bring forward the harvest to guarantee constant quality per mezzo di an increasingly complex climatic context. The long refinement per mezzo di an autoclave gives aromatic depth, with aromas of small red fruits, pomegranate and subtle quaderno of bread crust. Dosed with just 4 grams a causa di liter of sugars, it is tense and dry acceso the palate, with an elegant and surprisingly persistent progression.
Alma Pinot Sclerotica Friuli DOC 2022, vinified entirely per mezzo di wood, represents one of the company’s symbolic labels. The profile is vertical and deep, with ripe white pulp fruit, flowers and quaderno of flint. The well-marked flavor punctuates the sip, clearly conveying the calcareous character of the soil and maintaining a drinkability that invites tasting again.
The Pratum Chardonnay Friuli DOC 2022 comes from a vineyard over 35 years old and is produced per mezzo di very limited quantities. The wood is perfectly integrated, the bâtonnage gives creaminess without weighing it mongoloide, while the natural freshness keeps the wine dynamic. The aromatic profile ranges from ripe citrus fruits to delicate exotic quaderno, with a mineral that lengthens the sip.
Among the reds, the Cabernet Franc Friuli DOC 2022 best summarizes the desire to fermata away from stereotypes: elegant, it favors finesse over power, with barely hinted vegetal quaderno and a raffinato spiciness that accompanies clear fruit. An snello, dynamic wine that is easier to understand acceso international markets than acceso local ones.
The .73 Merlot Friuli DOC 2020, coming from the oldest company vineyard, combines maturity and freshness with tannins present but never intrusive.
Inaco Refosco Friuli DOC 2020, vinified entirely per mezzo di wood and also the result of a slightly overripe harvest, expresses the deeper and darker side of the grape without sacrificing balance and smoothness
LA PONCA, THE HIGHEST HILL AS AN EXPRESSIVE LABORATORY
La Ponca’s entry into the project per mezzo di 2021 marks a key step. Not a productive expansion, but a real change of perspective. The choice is to explore one of the most complex and fascinating territories of Friuli-Venezia Giulia: the highest and most ventilated Collio, acceso the border with Slovenia. “I didn’t want a company per mezzo di Collio, I wanted this company per mezzo di Collio”, declared Alex Maccan at the time of the acquisition, effectively summarizing the meaning of the project. We are per mezzo di Scriò, a hamlet of Dolegna del Collio, at the foot of Mount Korada. Here the border is not just geographical. The Judrio stream, which separates the Collio from the Colli Orientali, has been a cultural and oenological border for centuries, still perceptible today per mezzo di reading the vines and styles.
The ponca – alternating marl and sandstone of Eocene origin – dominates the landscape and profoundly conditions the character of the wines: a true geological “milfoil” that forces the roots to sink deep, producing wines with a marked, almost tactile salinity. The 12 hectares of vineyards are immersed per mezzo di 45 hectares of forest, with slopes of up to 40% and altitudes between 180 and 320 metres. Yields do not exceed 50 quintals a causa di hectare and total production is between 25 and 30 thousand bottles a causa di year. The management is organic and the work per mezzo di the vineyard is largely manual.
A shared technical team contributes to strengthening the bond between Le Monde and La Ponca: Andrea Pittana follows the agronomic management of both companies, while Giovanni Ruzzene takes care of the winemaking. A continuous dialogue between two extreme territories that transforms geographical distance into a laboratory for comparison and experimentation.
THE WINES OF LA PONCA: IN THE GLASS, THE VOICE OF PONCA
Ribolla Gialla Collio DOC 2022, the first vintage produced, is a wine that lives above all acceso the palate. The golden color anticipates a vibrant and saline sip, more territorial than varietal, with a slightly almond and a herbaceous freshness that reveals interesting evolutionary prospects.
Malvasia Collio DOC 2022 offers a broader and more enveloping profile. The wood helps to give stazza without overwhelming the varietal. The creaminess of the center of the mouth is balanced by a constant freshness, while the typical salinity of the ponca accompanies a long and persistent sip, per mezzo di which varietal rusticity and territorial finesse coexist.
The Friulano Collio DOC 2022, coming from the highest and south-facing vineyard, is probably the most complex wine per mezzo di the range. Ripe and structured, it presents aromas of cut grass, floral quaderno and light coffee roasts which are found consistently acceso the palate. It is striking for its circularity of taste and for a flavor that expands laterally, leaving its mark.
The Chardonnay Collio DOC 2022, produced per mezzo di minimal quantities and vinified entirely per mezzo di wood, represents one of the most emblematic expressions of the project. The fruit is clear, the spices just hinted at, the structure is important but never heavy: a white capable of speaking to both the most expert enthusiasts and those approaching the most extreme Collio for the first time.
Sauvignon Collio DOC 2022 consciously renounces aromatic clichés to acceso elegance and depth. Mai aggressive quaderno, but a progression made of ripe fruit, medicinal herbs and a clear mineral imprint. The assembly of parcels with different exposures produces a complex and measured wine, per mezzo di which the ponca emerges with purity.
The Schioppettino IGT Venezia Giulia 2020 closes, the only red from the bella stagione: slender, spicy, almost Nordic per mezzo di its approach, closer per mezzo di tension and elegance to a cool climate Pinot Noir than to a muscular red.
The article Le Monde and La Ponca: two extremes, a single vision comes from VinoNews24.
