Winemaker Notes
Straw yellow with bright greenish highlights. A blend of Friulano & Ribolla Gialla this is a wine of great substance, with as elegant bouquet of custards, vanilla, and acacia blossoms, intermingling with the vivacious fresh notes of fruit and white flowers. The palate opens with a delicate, full character, which is both supple and sapid at the same time. The distinguishing characteristics of its individual varieties stand out in its persistent finish, with a slight almond note from the Friulano and the fresh sensations of the Ribolla.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This wine presents ripe orchard fruit accompanied by hints of candied lemon, fresh honey and dusty mineral notes. It is complex and layered with a spicy tension on the palate, boasting a medium to full body and a compact, creamy core. The finish is lingering and full of character. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Tunella 2023 Friuli Colli Orientali Biancosesto is a 50/50 blend of Friulano and Ribolla Gialla that shows a fleshy and open-knit profile with a creamy and consistent texture. The wine offers notes of baked apple, white currant and a lightly balsamic touch recalling eucalyptus or fresh-sliced ginger, adding aromatic intrigue. Despite its medium- to full-bodied weight, there is good freshness on the finish that keeps the wine balanced and lively.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2023 Tunella Biancoseto exudes a delightful aroma that harmonizes the flavors of stone fruits with a subtle note of perfume. On the palate, it unleashes an explosion of exceptional apple and stone fruit flavors. Its long, layered finish would pair perfectly with a Tuna and Salmon Poke Bowl. (Tasted: December 3, 2025, San Francisco, CA)
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Decanter
Herbaceous aromas, sage and tarragon, with a touch of floral character. Rich, creamy palate, lovely acidity, fresh pineapple and orchard fruit.
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Wine Spectator
A lithe, layered white, with mouth- watering acidity framing a range of fleshy apricot, mango and quince fruit flavors. This is well-meshed, with pretty accents of apple blossoms, ginger and honeycomb. A minerally tang of salinity refreshes the finish. Friulano and Ribolla Gialla.
A few months after the purchase, Livio passes away, leaving Gabriella and two sons (14 year old Massimo and 12 year old Marco) to run the business. She decided to continue the family tradition with a passion and didication equal to her late husband and with the firm commitment and support of her sons. Once he finished school, the very young Massimo began to oversee both the vineyards and cellar, moving into the sales, marketing and business end of the wine industry when brother Marco joins him and shows an interest in and talent for vineyard management.
Today Massimo is Sales Manager for La Tunella, traveling the globe to bring the family's high quality wines to various markets all over Italy and abroad, including Great Britain, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Greece, Canada and the United States. Marco is the winery's Vineyard Manager, responsible for 70 hectares of vineyards (more than triple the amount his father started with).
With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
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.