Exceptionally dry - to the point of having a rather noticeable mouthgrip.
Exceptionally chalky - the first time I tried it, it had such strong baking soda/baking powder/sodium notes that frankly I found it a little offensive.
Not really any fruit to speak of, but boy does it have minerality in spades.
The flavors [love 'em or hate 'em] are very clean and very penetrating.
Originally encountered at a little dinner party, in a larger flight of wines [at least one of which was pretty famous], but over time, the other wines just started seeming flabby and gooey by comparison, and this is the one I kept coming back to.
Day Two now, and it's really coming into its own [the others having long since faded]. In fact, I've got enough confidence in the minerality of this wine that I'm not even going to wait until Day Three before posting this note.
And now here's the kicker: In our market, by the case, it's going for all of $5.99.
2004 Lungarotti Pinot Grigio Umbria
I didn't know the Southerners could make a wine with such a lean, precise, and cutting profile as this [Mapquest says that Torgiano is only about 100 miles due north of Rome]. Heck, for all I know, Italy produces millions of gallons of wines like this, and I've just never stumbled upon one until now.
But if you're looking for a cheap fix to satisfy your minerality habit, then you could do a lot worse than this wine.
A whole lot worse.