Wine & Spirits - October 2017 - 67

YEAR'S BEST ALTO ADIGE, FRIULI & SLOVENIA
It's a natural match for scallops in a lemonbutter sauce. § Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant,
Berkeley, CA
223914

summer morning with scents of dewy hay,
white blossoms and bee pollen. It feels cool
and tart, with flavors of lime zest and melon
rind that turn toward juicy white peach as
the wine gains texture and weight with exposure to air. Decant this an hour before serving with poultry or cured meats. § Blue Danube
Wine, Los Altos Hills, CA
223427

90 | Marco Cecchini

$18

2012 Colli Orientali del Friuli Tovè (Best
Buy) ^ Cecchini includes ten percent of verduzzo friulano in this wine, which may contribute to its golden color and rich orchardfruit flavors. The wine is intensely herbal,
with notes of sage, oregano and mint curling
through its fruit flavors as it moves toward a
salty, zesty finish. § T. Edward Wines, NY

223126

88 | Gradis'ciutta

$22

88 | Terlato

$25

2015 Collio Friulano (Best Buy) ^ Cool acidity cuts through this wine's pine-nut creaminess, lifting the flavors of melon and white
peach. Scents of hay and wildflowers lend a
soft floral aspect. § Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL
219860
2014 Colli Orientali del Friuli Friulano
(Best Buy) ^ Brisk and lively, this friulano
offers pleasant floral scents and tart lemon
flavors in a creamy texture. Lightly herbaceous, it's a match for flaky white fish. § Terlato Wines Int'l, Lake Bluff, IL

KERNER
223717

91 | Abbazia di Novacella

223808

90 | Livio Felluga

$25

2016 Colli Orientali del Friuli Friulano
(Best Buy) ^ This feels warm and hefty, almost
like a pear-almond smoothie in its creamy
texture and fruit flavors. Mild acidity and
watermelon-rind greenness accent the rich
texture, leading to a balanced and precise finish. § MW Imports, White Plains, NY
224070

90 | Radikon

$43/500ml

2009 Venezia Giulia Jakot ^ Radikon calls
this wine Jakot-tokaj spelled backwards-
a nod to the old name for friulano. He macerates it on the skins for 30 days and ages it for
three years in large Slavonian casks, allowing
the wine to develop a range of contrasting flavors: dried mango, peach tea and tangerine,
along with briny notes of green olives and
capers. The volatile notes fade over several
days, the flavors graduating to saffron and
toasted nuts on the long finish. It's a wine
that requires patience and a sense of adventure. § Louis/Dressner Selections, NY
224026

88 | Ronchi di Pietro

$17

2016 Colli Orientali del Friuli Friulano
(Best Buy) ^ Limey acidity lifts this wine's
creamy flavors of ripe pear and yellow plum,
which pick up a honeyed note on the finish. §
Enotec Imports, Denver, CO

$22

2016 Alto Adige Valle Isarco Kerner (Best
Buy) ^ Scents of white blossoms and peach
skin lend delicacy to this round and creamy
wine. A streak of salinity adds lift and structure, balancing the ripe peach and spiced
golden apple flavors and cleansing the finish. § Abbazia di Novacella USA, Sausalito, CA

M A LV A S I A
223434

93 | Skerk

$33

2013 Venezia Giulia Malvazija (Best Buy) ^
This malvasia opens with delicate scents of
fresh peach and white flowers that belie its
heft. Left on the skins for ten days, this feels
chewy and dense, with a current of salinity
that weaves through flavors of peach, dried
apricot and tangerine. The wine fleshes out
after a few swirls in the glass, gaining spice
and brown-butter creaminess. Rich enough
for seafood stew, it would also be delicious
with pork belly. § T. Edward Wines, NY
223353

92 | Edi Kante

$35

2013 Venezia Giulia Malvasia (Best Buy) ^
Made from malvasia grown in the Carso's
limestone soils, this feels Chablis-like in its
chalky minerality, with brisk citrus flavors
and breezy salinity. Aged in used barrels
and stainless-steel tanks, the wine preserves
a lively tension even while developing yellowplum and wildflower-honey notes with air.

92 | Skerlj

$48

91 | Skerlj

$38

91 | Vignai da Duline

$45

2014 Venezia Giulia Malvasia ^ Matej Skerlj
owns six acres of vines in the limestone and
terra rossa soils of Friuli's Karst (or Carso)
region, just a couple of miles from the Slovenian border. He makes two white wines-this
malvasia, and a vitovska (also recommended
here)-vinified in old oak barrels without
temperature control; for both wines, he
leaves the skins in contact with the juice for
three weeks. His 2014 malvasia feels sunny
and brisk, its flavors of white cherry and
golden peach brimming with cool salinity
and lemony acidity. It picks up notes of fennel and cumin with air, finishing with a salty
tang that leaves your mouth vibrating long
after the wine is gone. § T. Edward Wines, NY;
North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA
223430
2013 Venezia Giulia Malvasia (Best Buy) ^
Skerlj's 2013 malvasia feels rounder and
fleshier than his 2014 (also recommended
here). It opens with scents of orange blossoms that lead to flavors of Rainier cherry
and juicy peach, propelled by salinity and
framed by a lightly grippy apple-skin texture.
Notes of brown spice emerge on the finish,
adding depth and richness. § T. Edward Wines,
NY; North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA
223356
2015 Venezia Giulia Chioma Integrale
Malvasia ^ From 55-year-old vines, this malvasia has impressive depth to its yellow plum
and tangerine flavors, and a zippy acidity
that gives it almost effervescent vibrancy. It
stays cool and juicy, with a refreshing salinity. §
Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA

MULLER-THURGAU
223467

90 | Tiefenbrunner

$41

2015 Alto Adige Feldmarschall von Fenner
Müller-Thurgau ^ This is Tiefenbrunner's
flagship wine, the fruit culled from a sevenacre vineyard that sits at 3,300 feet above
sea level, where cool evening temperatures
preserve fresh acidity in the grapes. Scents of
gardenia waft from the glass, leading to flavors of white peach and golden apple infused
with salinity. The flavors may not be longlived, but the pleasure is in those intoxicating
aromas of fresh orchard fruit. § Winebow, NY

WINE & SPIRITS

OCTOBER 2017

67
http://www.vineyardbrands.com/producer.aspx?id=119 http://www.mionettousa.com/brands/livio-felluga/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - October 2017
