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(Synonyms: Freisa di Chieri, Freisa Piccola, Freisetta, Fresia, Monferrina, Mountrina, Spannia.)
Freisa is a centuries-old red-wine grape originating in the Piedmont region of Italy, which remains its primary home today and where there are several DOCs under its name (such as Freisa d’Asti).
Like Nebbiolo (a relative), Freisa typically produces wines quite light in color. They are normally quite acidic and tannic; their distinctive fragrance is of red fruit (strawberries and raspberries), plus they are said to have a tinge of bitterness (which Italians, at least, are known to like). As modern winemaking techniques have taken hold, makers have had better control over fermentation and residual sugars that help balance out that slight bitterness. Nonetheless, Freisa is olften described as a “polarizing” wine, meaning most people either love it or hate it, with few in-between opinions.
As one reviews the literature, it becomes clear that much of what is thought and written about Freisa derives from the days before the arrival of those modern winemaking techniques. Freisa was long thought of as being solely good for sparkling wines, in which the bitterness of “green” tannins had to be balanced off by a fair dose of residual sugars—thus, Freisa’s standing in the wine world was unjustly low. With modern techniques and a focus on monovarietal dry table-wine Freisas, it’s a whole new ballgame, and that “polarizing” nonsense, well, just that: nonsense. Today Freisa, though still sadly under-apprevciated and largely unknown in the U.S., is an excellent wine. Indeed, as it ages—and it can age quite well for long periods, a decade or more—it becomes more and more like a specimen of its famous relative, Nebbiolo.
(When you read discussions of Freisa wines, including those we quote farther below, try to determine if the writers are referring to “old-style” Freisa, usually a slightly sparkling rendition, or the new, modern, dry-table-wine style. It matters a lot.)
Freisa grapes are of two sorts:
Factoid: Freisa is closely related to both Nebbiolo and Viognier.
There are several Freisa wines available in the U.S., but—sad to say—none of those in our price range represent anything like the quality this variety is capable of. So: we have no main listings at all. Sorry!
If you are willing to spend a little, you can find a couple of decent Freisas. Our nomination is the G. D. Vajra Freisa “Kyè” Langhe Rosso, which retails for from $32 to $55.
• This wine’s Wine Searcher “Reviews” page.
• This wine’s CellarTracker review pages.
• Retail offers of this wine listed by Wine Searcher.
• Retail offers of this wine listed by 1000 Corks.
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Some Descriptions of Freisa Wines
“Similar to Nebbiolo, Freisa produces wines with considerable tannins and acidity. While it can be used in blends, it is most often encountered as a varietal. Traditionally Freisa was produced as a slightly sparkling wine with some noticeable sweetness. To balance the bitterness from the grape and aging on its lees, the wines would be made with a small amount of residual sugar and allowed to go through a secondary fermentation to create a limited amount of frothiness. This bitter/sweet dynamic has brought Freisa its share of fans and critics with wine experts such Hugh Johnson describing the wine as being ‘immensely appetizing’ to Robert M. Parker, Jr. describing Freisa as producing ‘totally repugnant wines’. Modern winemaking technology has introduced techniques to minimize some of the bitter tannins and ferment the wine fully dry. These include temperature control fermentation vessels and aging in oak barrels. Like Nebbiolo, Freisa produces a relatively light colored wine but with more distinctive purple hues. The wines are often characterized with strawberry, raspberry and violet aromas.”
“Freisa seems to be a polarizing variety. It repels many first timers with its sometimes-overbearing tannins and bitter finish, as well as the residual sugar that is often used to counter these effects. Others find it a refreshing and challenging variety…Those who like both sweet strawberry-scented Brachetto and tannic, petulant Nebbiolo probably form the mainstay of the Freisa fan base, and can justifiably consider themselves true Piedmontese wine lovers.”
“Genetic studies (Schneider, Boccacci, Torello et al, 2004) show that Freisa and Nebbiolo share a parent-offspring connection and, according to Ian D’Agata, author of Italy’s Native Wine Grape Terroirs, Freisa is more likely Nebbiolo’s parent. This would explain their similarities, from the light ruby hue of their wines, to high tannins and acidity which lend to the wine’s ability to age. ‘Give Freisa 10-12 years and it’s almost indistinguishable to Nebbiolo’, says D’Agata. Like Nebbiolo, it is capable of producing a mesmerisingly perfumed wine of great structure, and is almost always a varietal wine…The wine, which is essentially named after the grape, exhibits aromas and flavors that are hauntingly complex and vivacious, often reminiscent of the characteristics of the brambly aggregate fruit, ranging from sweet to sour with an attractive bitter edge…Freisa exhibits mouth-watering acidity and is adamantly tannic, both of which contribute to its ageability.”
“The wines resulting from Freisa are lightly colored, but high in acidity and tannin…On the nose, Freisa recalls slightly sour-sweet fruit tones of strawberry and raspberry, and a pleasing nose of red and purple flowers. In fact, Freisa takes its name from the Latin word for strawberry, fresia. The finish has a tinge of bitterness, which makes a single sip of Freisa a bit of a carnival ride: a little sweet, a little sour, a little bitter…Langhe Freisa DOC wines lean more toward the dry, still versions, and they often come from the region’s calcareous marl soil. They are not entirely emblematic of Freisa as a whole, but they’re wildly delicious and a little unpredictable in terms of their aromatic journey after you open one up. One moment you might feel like you are standing in a berry patch, the next moment you’re in church as the incense passes by.”
“So why are there are so few dry Freisa wines? Answer: the phenolic content of the grape is high and creates problems for the producer. Some Freisa wines are not easy to drink because of dominating green tannins. These tannins are the real problem for each producer who wants to get it right: if they are too intense or too ‘dry’ the wine will become undrinkable[,] but when the wine lacks tannins it can become thin and uninteresting and such wines will not improve with aging. So producers have to search for the right balance and avoid those ´green´ tannins. But when it contains this balance between mature tannins and mature fruit, Freisa can be a wonderful wine with structure, and those typical, intense notes of blackberry, raspberry and freshness. Barrel aging can contribute to such balance…What I like in such well made Freisa wines are these rich, earthy tones, intense black fruit, raspberry, some mint, great freshness and 14% alcohol…This I consider the real authentic style of dry Freisa. There are some lighter wines indeed, maybe easy drinkable, but as they lack much of the tannin structure they are not long-lived and will never reach this strong character with those typical black-fruit nose. Alas in the past its tannic content was reason for some famous wine critics to write very negative comments about Freisa. All this is related to the old style of Freisa with too dry and bitter tannins, all unbalanced. By now many producers are working with more attention and produce a wine with more moderate and balanced tannins which results in drinkable styles and aging potential.”
“The aromas are lightly fruity, with sour, wild red berries and then deeply herbaceous with notes of sage, green olive, earth, tar, and bitter green almond. On the palate, the wine has zippy acidity and astringent bitterness with chalky and grippy tannins (the kind that cause the insides of your mouth to stick to your teeth). Several producers will actually leave a touch of residual sugar in the wine to complement its astringency, which can come across like a light-weight amaro. Wines like Freisa that have exceptionally high levels of antioxidants are known for being also a bit bitter, so all in all, Freisa is a rare treat.”
“Freisa is a vine that is able to make a good wine tannin concentration, with nice fruity fragrance. Even the addition of colour is discreet, but especially the acidity and structure that enable ageing in the medium term. It is a typical Piedmontese vine, therefore, where the scents of raspberry and violet are constant and pervasive.”
“ The color spans from cherry to garnet, and the bouquet has both notes of cherry and roses. The…dry type is delicate and soft – especially if it has aged a little…If Freisa d’Asti is aged for one year, the label mentions Superiore and the wine must comply with the requirement of minimum 11.5% alcohol content. To avoid that you come home with a sweet dessert wine for beef roast, notice the sweet type has ‘Amabile’ on the label, while the dry is indicated by ‘Secco’.”