I would rank today’s Friulano from I Clivi as one of the top 10 white wines being made in Italy right now. But that might not be enough for many of you, so perhaps some ‘comps’ to other great whites of the world would help: Although the Friulano grape is a genetic mutation of Sauvignon Blanc, its most compelling expressions hint at serious white Burgundy, richer styles of Austria Grüner Veltliner, and classic coastal whites like Albariño all at once.
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been demanding entry into the world’s elite ranks for a while now, only to be denied entry by gatekeepers with badly outdated images of Italian white wine. Well, it’s time they were let in—and let’s start with “Galea,” a single-vineyard bottling from a 70-year-old plot in Corno di Rosazzo, in the Friulian province of Udine. The marl and sandstone soils of the Galea vineyard (known locally as
flysch) give rise to a textured and deeply mineral white that ages for an extended period on its lees and sees no oak. With vineyards in both the Collio and Colli Orientali del Friuli DOCs, right on Italy’s border with Slovenia, I Clivi sits between the Carnic Alps and Adriatic Sea, where wide diurnal temperature shifts lengthen the growing season and preserve vital acidity. Today’s ’16 has a profound terroir imprint, it will age, and it won’t lose a step when poured next to the world-class analogs cited above. It’s a real blue-chipper—but isn’t priced like one!
Meanwhile, your appreciation for this wine will only deepen as you learn more of the I Clivi story. The estate was founded by Ferdinando Zanusso in the mid-1990s after he purchased an old, two-hectare vineyard in the town of Brazzano di Cormons. Zanusso grew up in nearby Treviso, and his father had made wine, but he spent some 30 years working in West Africa before returning home to make wine. He was quickly followed into viticulture and winemaking by his son, Mario, who continues to run the property today on a resolutely artisanal scale: Their 12 hectares of vineyards are Certified Organic and dry-farmed (i.e. non-irrigated), and they eschew the use of oak for aging their whites. Although they also make precise, high-toned examples of Malvasia and Ribolla Gialla, their two signature whites are their “cru” bottlings of Friulano: “Galea,” from 70-year-old vines in the Colli Oriental del Friuli DOC; and “Brazan,” from 80-year-old plantings in Collio.
Long known as “Tocai Friulano,” this indigenous variety was long thought to be related to the Furmint grape of Hungary’s Tokaji region. Meanwhile, producers in Alsace called Pinot Gris ‘Tokay d’Alsace’ and Australians made ‘Tokay’ dessert wines from Muscadelle. This muddle was resolved, finally, in 2008, when Hungary was officially given sole use of the name, because it is a ‘place’ name there, attached to their famed golden nectars from the region. Since then, Friulians have bottled wines from the grape as just “Friulano.” As DNA research has proved, Friulano is a distant relative of Sauvignon Blanc known as Sauvignonasse, or Sauvignon Vert (‘green’ Sauvignon). While there are occasions when Friulano skews toward Sauvignon Blanc in style, it is only in the subtlest of ways and it is rather rare. Name notwithstanding, the best Friulanos are not especially ‘green,’ either in color (they typically have a more silvery cast) or in flavor (there’s much less, if none, of the pyrazine/bell pepper influence that characterizes Sauvignon Blanc). Friulano is typically more richly textured and lower in acidity than Sauvignon Blanc as well.
Only about 3,000 bottles of “Galea” are produced in any given vintage. It is hand-harvested and vinified on ambient yeasts in stainless steel, where it rests on its lees for 24 months before bottling. In the glass, it shines a pale straw-gold moving to silvery-green reflections at the rim. The aromatics show a creamy, bread-dough note from the long lees aging, after which characteristic notes of apricot, kumquat, white flowers, wild herbs, wet stones and a hint of nutmeg show through. It is impeccably balanced, with some pleasing viscosity on the palate balanced by fresh acidity and a stony, savory mineral component. I have tried long-aged versions of both this wine and its sibling “Brazan” (sourced from a different single vineyard in neighboring Collio), and I can attest to their capacity for aging (this owes in large part to that extended lees aging, which has proved a boon for the longevity of white wines). Traditionally, Friulano is the wine the local
osteria serves you alongside a plate of Friuli’s Prosciutto di San Daniele, and while I’d hardly object to enjoying this wine that way, you need to break out a recipe from Friuli’s greatest American culinary ambassador, Lidia Bastianich. This combination will make you a Friulano believer, guaranteed. Don’t miss it!
