Let’s cut right to the chase: I Clivi makes some of the greatest white wines in Italy. And, just so we’re clear, that’s not damning them with faint praise—their wines, especially those from the native Friuliano grape, stand toe-to-toe with the greats of the Old World, be it white Burgundy, Sancerre, Austrian Grüner Veltliner, and so forth. Overall, the white wines of Friuli-Venezia Giulia (and some of their “orange” siblings) have been demanding entry into the world’s elite ranks for a while now, only to be denied entry by gatekeepers with a badly outdated image of Italian white wine. Well, we’re back with an affordable, and relatively new, bottling from I Clivi that demands an audience: It’s an old-vine, single-vineyard Friulano from a site in the heart of Friuli’s Collio DOC—arguably the top white wine terroir in Italy—and it (over) delivers on every level. There’s complex aromas, profound minerality, mouth-watering acid, and serious structure. It’s an incredibly accomplished white wine at this price, so please, do yourself a favor and get some on your table a.s.a.p.!

We’ve sung the praises of I Clivi, and the Friulano variety (a genetic mutation of Sauvignon Blanc), countless times—and yet, each time we decide to offer something new from this estate, we’re compelled to “make the case” for Friulian white wine all over again. This really shouldn’t be necessary at this point, but here goes: Positioned roughly equidistant from both the Carnic Alps and the Adriatic Sea, the best hillside terroirs of Friuli