Winemaker Notes
Intense and persistent with spicy flavors of hay, almond, and dried yellow flowers, finishing with a memory of ripe golden apples.
Serve as an aperitif, with anipasti, prosciutto crudo di San Daniele, and other various types, from soups to other first courses. It marries perfectly also with Montasio cheese and also easily pairs with plates of baked and marinated fish.
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From producer Robert Princic, the Gradis'Ciutta 2019 Collio Friulano is packaged in the estate's distinctive triangle-top bottle. This is a lovely value wine with a generous bouquet that peels back to reveal orchard fruit, peach and candied orange peel. The intensity of those aromas is impressive and seamless. I came back to my open bottle two days later, and the wine was just as fresh, vibrant and compelling as when I left it. This is a good occasion to make some traditional Friulian cjalson, or boiled dumplings with the filling of your choice—in this case I would go with some pancetta in the stuffing.
-
Wine Enthusiast
White stone fruit and chamomile aromas mingle with a whiff of botanical herbs. On the elegantly structured, medium-bodied palate, tangy acidity lifts white peach, ripe pear and a hint of grapefruit before a hazelnut close.
Thriving in the NE Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia near the border of Slovenia, Friulano makes a uniquely high-pitched and vibrant white with a delicate perfume. Extensive in the area by the early 1930s, today Friulano grows in all of the best zones and is usually, but not always, bottled as a single-varietal wine. Somm Secret— The Friulano grown today, while named for its present home of Friuli, is actually the Sauvignonasse grape, a minor cultivar that came from Bordeaux.
Viticulture has thrived in Colli Orientali del Friuli since the reign of ancient Rome and today its verdant, rolling hills support a long list of autochthonous varieties, each playing a unique and important role in the modern Colli Orientali wine scene.
The region is primarily recognized for its white wines. Its indigenous varieties of Ribolla Gialla, Verduzzo, Picolit and perhaps most importantly, Friulano are made into single varietal wines or blended, and often blended with the international varieties of Sauvignon blanc, Pinot grigio and Pinot bianco. The latter have been flourishing in the area since the 1800s. But it wasn’t until the 1970s when producers started using cold fermentation techniques to produce fresh, fruity, crisp and aromatic whites that this area began to attract international attention.
While reds only make up about a third of the area under vine, Colli Orientali is home to some of Italy’s most exciting and rare red wines. Refosco, Schioppettino, Tazzelenghe and Pignolo are among the autochthonous varieties while Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir also have a stronghold.
Colli Orientali holds much in common with its neighbor, Collio; the only thing dividing them is a political line. Both are influenced by the cooling effects of the Julian Alps and moderated by the Adriatic Sea. A unique soil of alternating marine layers called flysch also dominates Colli Orientali, providing a mineral-rich environment for vine roots and optimal water drainage.