(2019)

In Italy it's name is Pinot Grigio, but the grape variety is also known as Pinot Gris in France, and in recent decades world wine producers who grow and bottle the variety have tended to use these terms as a sort of short-hand for style - sometimes even quality. It's fair to say that the reputation of Italian Pinot Grigio has suffered from cheap, over-cropped and commercial wines that have become the staple of by-the-glass white wine in pubs and bars, the fairly indiscriminate choice of people who just want "an inofessive glass of white." So Pinot Grigio - as opposed to
Gris - has an arguably deserved poor reputation among some wine lovers, but that does a huge diservice to many very good, very carefully made examples from the variety's heartland in the north of Italy, but also wines like this, made much further south, in Tuscany. Banfi's Grigio comes from vineyards in the southern part of Montalcino, and has genuine fruit sweetness and ripeness (rather than residual sugar) and a fair degree of concentration. Fleshy stone fruits and citrus on the nose lead on to an expansive palate, with Ogen melon and more lemon rind weight and citrus intensity, the acidity gentle but persistent, giving this easy drinking appeal for sure, but a bit of class, weight and authority too. A very nice example.