2021 Adelaide Hills, Alluvium Fiano, Unico Zelo
About Producer
Launched in 2013, Unico Zelo is the project of winemaking couple Brendan and Laura Carter in Gumeracha, in the Adelaide Hills. In their words, their aim is to create ‘Italian-inspired, textural and site-expressive wines’. Seeking to produce ‘Australian examples of Mediterranean varieties in an approachable and jovial fashion’, the Carters now make a large range of wines, including single vineyard examples of fiano, nero d’avola and nebbiolo.
Varietals
Fiano.
About Appellation
Fiano is a white Italian grape that has its origins in the hills of Avellino, east of Naples, in the Campania region. It’s believed that fiano is the grape behind the Apianum wine that the ancient Romans loved so much. It’s typically delicate, fruity, luscious and hauntingly floral. The variety has also been successfully imported into Sicily. Outside Italy, it’s making a name for itself in Australia, notably in McLaren Vale, Adelaide Hills and Hunter Valley wine regions since fiano loves warm weather and ripens later in the growing season, avoiding the hot months of summer. More recently, it has started to build a small following in Argentina, in La Rioja district, north of Mendoza.
Tasting Notes
Aromatic nose of orchard fruits, citrus, guava, lemongrass and jasmine flowers, smooth mouthfeel with waxy texture, lean structure and excellent precision, oodles of flavours of nectarine, apricot, Asian pear, orange peel, grapefruit and pine nuts, flinty mineral undertones and vibrant acidity leading onto a zippy finish. This is a cracking wine with undeniable charm and lively energy, striking a perfect balance between savoury fruitiness and zesty freshness. There is no claim to complexity here, just sheer pleasure of immediate bliss. (06/2022)