Flors di Uis vs Ciampagnis Chardonnay

Introduction

We’ve already talked about the splendid Sauvignons from Vie di Romans, a winery that gave real meaning to the Friuli Isonzo DOC. It’s worth comparing two more wines: one is Flors di Uis (“Flower of the Grapes” in Friulian—what a lovely name), the estate’s best-known and most widespread blend; the other is Ciampagnis Chardonnay, a much more underground label.

The Gallo Family

When it comes to white-wine excellence in Friuli, Vie di Romans is a name that comes up again and again. The estate is based in Mariano del Friuli (Gorizia) and belongs to the Gallo family, who were already working the vine long before the region became a cult destination for white-wine enthusiasts. The story begins in 1900, but takes a precise and revolutionary direction in 1978, the year of the first bottling under the Vie di Romans label.

Gianfranco Gallo, a key figure in the winery’s transformation, worked to shape a style of his own: rigorous, distinctive, structured. The decision to vinify each individual cru separately and the adoption of later release dates for the whites are moves that over the years have built an important reputation. The wines have body thanks to lees contact, yet they are never clumsy.

Vie di Romans has inspired many other producers in the Isonzo area (see Ronco del Gelso), giving nobility and meaning to a DOC that would otherwise appear rather anonymous. Even taking into account the proximity to the much more renowned Collio, the path chosen by the Gallo family is striking: starting from terroirs inclined to favor quantity rather than quality, they succeeded in forging a highly refined style and a name not tied to passing fashions. The consistently high quality (in my experience, these wines are always somewhere between very, very good and excellent) makes the estate extremely reliable, and what ends up in the glass matches the prices.

Flors di Uis

Flors di Uis is perhaps the estate’s most representative cuvée, the result of an unusual blend: 58% Malvasia Istriana, 27% Riesling Renano and 15% Friulano. The grapes come from three historic vineyards of the winery – Boghis, Cjampagnis and Vie di Romans – covering a total of 3.88 hectares, at an altitude between 29 and 34 meters above sea level. The soil is of medium-textured silty clay, rich in iron and aluminum oxides. This soil formation gives structure and salinity, while the double East-West and North-South exposure ensures constant ventilation and balanced ripening.

The agronomic regime follows strict criteria, with planting density up to 6,500 vines per hectare and yields limited to about 1.1 kilograms per vine. Harvesting, manual and staged, took place from September 11 in 2023. In the cellar, the grapes undergo destemming and crushing, a cold skin maceration at 8 °C and static settling before alcoholic fermentation at 16 to 19 °C. No malolactic fermentation is carried out, in order to preserve freshness and acidity. The wine rests on fine lees in steel for 8 months and clarifies naturally. After bottling (May of the following year), it rests a further 10 months in bottle.

With 13.8% alcohol, 5.90 g/l acidity and a pH of 3.30, Flors di Uis shows from its youth a lively but measured texture. It is a white wine that calls for patience: its evolutionary peak lies around 9 years, but it can reach up to 18.

Ciampagnis Chardonnay

For Ciampagnis, the grapes come from a single vineyard – the Ciampagnis already mentioned above – located at 32 meters above sea level in the municipality of Mariano del Friuli, on the plateau of the Rive Alte. Here the soil is shallow, with a coarse texture rich in stones, low in clay but well supplied with iron and aluminum oxides: elements that are reflected in the vertical drive and precision of the sip. The vineyard, covering 9.32 hectares, is trained both as simple guyot and as cordon spur, with a density between 6,200 and 7,800 vines per hectare.

The yield is low – about 0.85 kilograms per vine – and the harvest is carried out manually (in the latest vintage between September 12 and 14). Vinification follows the winery’s standards: destemming and crushing, skin maceration at 8 °C, static clarification and fermentation at controlled temperature between 16 and 19 °C, without malolactic fermentation. The wine rests for 8 months on the lees in steel, clarifies naturally, is bottled in mid-May and left to refine for a further 9 months in bottle before release.

In the glass, Ciampagnis 2022 had 14.5% alcohol, 5.7 g/l acidity and a pH of 3.43. It is therefore a white that focuses on structure and ripeness rather than on extreme verticality. Its evolutionary peak comes after about 7 years, but its ability to age extends beyond 15.

Flors di Uis vs Ciampagnis — Technical Sheets

Flors di Uis is therefore the standard-bearer of complexity through blending, a wine built on the balance between three grape varieties and three vineyard parcels. Ciampagnis, on the other hand, is a pure single-varietal, the result of a single vineyard and a specific interpretation of Chardonnay. Here is a technical comparison.

Flors di Uis thus partly originates from the same vineyard as Ciampagnis. The vinification is very similar, with slightly longer bottle aging for the blend, which is produced from slightly older vines. Ciampagnis, however, is a wine with more alcohol and less acidity, and its estimated longevity is also lower. Here is how the two bottles behave in the glass.

Tasting Impressions: Flors di Uis 2019

The Flors di Uis 2019 from Vie di Romans appears in the glass as a thick, compact golden line: it almost seems to smile, promising aromatic richness that then decreases in intensity on the palate, only to return in the finish with a sharp, acidic spark.

It is sometimes easy to take for granted the great quality and stylistic precision of Vie di Romans. The nose is a true, coherent explosion of aromas: fleshy yellow fruit, hawthorn, citrus peel, chalk and even apricot doughnuts. A very rich aromatic palette, which, however, withdraws in the mouth. The texture is dense, very much in line with the house style, but the aromatic opulence gives way to a more austere profile, dominated by taut notes of bergamot.

Acidity is clearly present and the sapidity is solid: fundamental elements that support the body of the wine, which otherwise – also because of the generous alcohol level – would risk appearing heavy. The finish is savory and spicy, with echoes of white pepper and citrus peel that extend the sip, giving breadth to a white wine that aims high. Served with baked fish, it struggled somewhat: the spicing of the dish ended up overwhelming the balance of the wine.

Price: 35 euros (retail). Slightly more expensive than its actual value.

Tasting Impressions: Ciampagnis Chardonnay 2022

In the glass it shows a straw yellow with golden reflections, but it is the shape it takes in the mouth that surprises: it recalls a long, sharp leaf. It starts soft, broad, almost inviting, then gradually narrows, revealing its precise and cutting nature. A sip that seems drawn by a laser.

It was the wine of a bitter defeat (I drank it the evening Inter lost 5–0 to PSG), yet the bottle was enchanting. On the nose it opens with reductive and slightly herbal notes: lemon curd, wet stone, mango. It is rich, yes, but always restrained, as if an invisible hand kept its exuberance in check. The body is full and round, and the acidity – surprising for a Chardonnay – is massive and sharp: it lingers on the tongue like a blade that does not wound but carves the memory of the wine.

On the palate the reductive sensations return, while the clean and distinct aromas perceived on the nose begin to fade. A note of vanilla emerges – probably linked to the aging on lees, given the absence of wood – introducing an elegant finish, built on shades of quince, a slight bitter nuttiness, and a powerful structure. It is a sexy balance between sapidity and salinity, with acidity holding everything together. It begins with charm, but ends up captivating the mouth. Paired with a salad of prawns, mango and butterkäse, the wine offered an acidic blade that sharpened and defined the whole. Fantastic.

Price: 31 euros (retail). Exceptional value for a great wine.

Flors di Uis vs Ciampagnis — Sensory Profile

So, summarizing:

Conclusion

Flors di Uis is a very fine wine, but in my view it is inferior to Ciampagnis Chardonnay, which is excellent. The flaw of Flors di Uis is that it has a nose that impresses greatly, but this is not matched by a palate of equal intensity. That said, it has a powerful finish and carries itself very well: at the table it certainly makes a fine impression.

Ciampagnis, on the other hand, is perfectly in line with the estate’s very high standards and has an almost narrative profile: it begins rich and enveloping and ends sculpted and precise, a progression held together by coherent aromas and flavors and by a complete structure. The key difference between the two is precisely this consistency and harmony of the whole. The price is similar, but the Chardonnay is at a higher level than Flors di Uis. If I had to choose, I would recommend Ciampagnis.