Wines from Friuli

Brilliant, rich yellow with silver-green reflections. The bouquet has pronounced smoky, mineral notes, full flavours of mango, citrus fruit, sage and asparagus. It shows its true class on the palate: wonderfully complex structure, lots of naturally sweet flavour, refreshing acidity and a juiciness, strength and length that can only be achieved through long contact with the lees and simultaneous agitation. Very convincing, downright captivating! SUPERIORE.DE

Bright yellow-green in colour. Intense nose of orchard fruits, ripe peach, roasted nuts and some lemon mousse, rounded off with creamy vanilla. Very juicy on the palate, not too heavy, with salty elements and warm yellow fruit flavours. Chardonnay made by Lis Neris is always a complete pleasure and a lasting memory. Very elegant and with good ageing and maturation potential thanks to 11 months of ageing on the fine lees. SUPERIORE.DE

The Chardonnay grapes for Lis Neris' Metodo Classico come from the historic Jurosa vineyard. After the first fermentation in 500-litre barrels, it matures for at least three years in the bottle on the fine lees and develops the nobility and elegance that immediately excited us. On the nose, notes of yeast, light stone fruit, limestone and minerals. In the mouth it is creamy and elegant, blessed with depth and at the same time great freshness, which one would wish for from many a French counterpart. Dom Jurosa is precise, cool and pleasantly dry in its overall appearance, which also makes it an excellent food companion. SUPERIORE.DE

Grappa Monovitigno Il Prosecco Bianco is the ideal summer grappa: fresh, floral and with a playful flavour. Excellent enjoyment at a serving temperature of 11 degrees and also brilliant for the preparation of many cocktails. SUPERIORE.DE

Chardonnay is one of the few white wine varieties that benefit from ageing in barriques – both in the wine and in the distillate. Nonino utilises this knowledge to create a grappa that perfectly balances the character of the grape variety with the maturity of the wood. Fresh Chardonnay pomace from Friuli is fermented anaerobically and slowly distilled in Benito's copper steam stills. Then the transformation begins: the distillate rests in small barriques for eight to twelve months until crystalline clarity turns to warm amber.

Beautiful Malvasia with a lot of varietal expression and an impressive potpourri of flavours. Jasmine, pear and white peach develop in the glass, with hints of passion fruit, spices and lime on the palate. Soft texture, very good structure and a complexity that opens up new facets with every sip. The finish is deep and long and, as always, the long yeast ageing time ensures promising ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

Sauvignon Blanc is the most expressive of the white grape varieties – unmistakable, self-confident, with an aroma profile that polarises. In wine, it shows its famous "green" notes; in grappa, it reveals a surprisingly different side. Fresh, destemmed pomace from selected growing areas is fermented anaerobically in stainless steel and immediately distilled – slowly, in Benito Nonino's copper steam still, with precise separation of the pre- and post-distillation stages. The result rests in glass balloons until it has found its harmony.

Picolit is not only one of the rarest, but also one of the finest grape varieties in Italy - a diva in the vineyard and a treasure in the glass. Due to its natural trickling, it naturally produces only a few, but highly concentrated berries. Tunella dedicates itself to this delicate, traditional plant with the utmost respect: hand-picking in several passes, natural drying of the berries on the plant until deep into autumn, ageing in small French oak barrels and a lot of patience. 2021 was a year with an ideal late summer that offered perfect conditions for Picolit. The noble rot grapes from the hills of the Colli Orientali yielded a dense, golden must that was fermented slowly and carefully. Maturation in small wooden barrels on the lees lends depth and texture without masking the delicate elegance of the variety.

Bright ruby red with garnet red reflections. Wild bouquet of red fruits, delicate spice flavours and a hint of tobacco and leather. Taut and elegant at the same time, the tannins are velvety soft, with a well-proportioned fruit centre and harmonious spiciness. A skilfully balanced red with a lingering final and good ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

Lively, golden straw yellow colour. The floral and spicy nose offers ripe pear, cinnamon, chamomile, white peach and grapefruit with subtle hints of ginger. Rich and racy, with multi-layered orchard and tropical fruit flavours and a subtle spiciness that lingers beautifully on the rich, luscious finish. Its excellent salinity and a very juicy, fresh cut accompany the tropical and spicy fruit flavours on the long finish. SUPERIORE.DE

Soft, silky wine with aromas of ripe apricots and honey that harmonise well with the fleshy richness of the mouthfeel. The expressive and very varietal palate is crowned with plenty of stone fruit, melon and pear. This is a strong performance from one of the winery's flagships. SUPERIORE.DE

Rive Alte Sauvignon Blanc Piere is the lighter coloured of the estate's two Sauvignons, but both wines are beautiful in their own right. Piere shows earthy notes of green olive, garden tomato leaf and sage on the palate, rounded off with lively and zesty flavours of citrus orange peel and some crushed mineral and white pepper. All the elements are in the right place and, like all Vie di Romans whites, Piere needs time in the glass to find its centre and minerality. And if you have the patience to give it this, then it's great. SUPERIORE.DE

The velvety accessibility of Merlot in wine is translated into unrivalled roundness in grappa. The Noninos select only fresh, soft vinacce from Friuli for this – the grapes are destemmed and processed immediately before undesirable secondary fermentation can set in. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks in the absence of air. The family then distils the wine slowly and discontinuously in their copper steam stills so that only the core reaches the bottle. After six to twelve months of resting in stainless steel, the distillate retains its crystalline clarity.

In 1973, Benito and Giannola Nonino revolutionised the world of grappa: for the first time, pomace was distilled in a single variety – a concept that is now standard as Monovitigno. Moscato epitomises this principle in its most aromatic form. Fresh, soft vinacce of the Moscato grape from selected growing regions ferment in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks in the absence of air. The discontinuous distillation in copper steam stills takes place with separation of the first and last run-off – only the centrepiece reaches the bottle. Maturation in stainless steel preserves the freshness and clarity typical of the variety.

Pale copper colour with amber and salmon hues, the result of prolonged maceration on the skins of the Pinot Grigio grapes (Ramato). Straightforward, precise nose of white stone fruit, sweet spices and vanilla. Clearly structured and forward on the palate with tart berry fruit, light cherries, wild mint and a hint of bitter almond. A salty nuance on the finish, light-footed, almost weightless and very animating. SUPERIORE.DE

Livio Felluga's new cru wines are the result of massalselection. For this purpose, selected vines are reproduced in particularly favourable locations in order to renew vineyards with particularly high-quality vines and to further improve the quality of individual varietal wines.

A great Friulano from small plots: Paolo Meroi vinifies his single-varietal white wine from vines over 40 years old on barren flysch soils around Buttrio and Rosazzo – a terroir that provides depth and precision. The wine is matured traditionally in barriques with long lees contact, which gives the wine structure and subtle maturity. Brilliant straw yellow in the glass with golden reflections. The nose is complex and finely interwoven: ripe pear, white peach, candied citrus fruit, lime blossom and a hint of herbal honey. Delicate hints of hazelnut, beeswax and wet stone in the background. Powerful, silky and elegantly textured on the palate. The acidity is well integrated and the salty minerality characterises the long, powerful finish. A Friulano of a special calibre – dense, complex and with an unmistakable character of origin. Paolo Merois' signature is palpable: authentic, precise, fully committed to Friuli. SUPERIORE.DE

Illivio is a subtle bridge between Friuli's autochthonous self-image and international nobility – a cuvée of Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay and Picolit, named after the charismatic founder of the estate, Livio Felluga, who sadly passed away in 2017. The vines grow on the characteristic Ponca soils of the Collio – marly, limestone-rich layers that lend the wines tension, minerality and depth. The 2022 vintage brought ideal conditions: a warm, sunny summer without extreme heat and a dry autumn ensured perfectly ripe, aromatically complex grapes.

ÙE – is what the grape is called in Friuli. And that is precisely the difference: while grappa is made from the pomace, Nonino distils the whole fruit for the ÙE – peel, pulp and juice together. The result combines the elegance of a brandy with the character of grappa. On 27 November 1984, the Nonino family created this new category and obtained ministerial approval. Today, distillers all over the world follow their model. For Uvabianca, they choose three aromatic white grape varieties: Moscato, Malvasia and Ribolla. Each is fermented separately and distilled in Benito's copper steam stills; the three distillates are only combined after maturation.

An idiosyncratic wine with character: Paolo Meroi's Ribolla Gialla comes from high-altitude plots around Buttrio, where cool nights and limestone-rich soils preserve the freshness of the grape variety. Unlike many wines from the region, Meroi's wine is not matured in steel tanks, but partly in used wood - a careful, finely balanced process that adds texture and depth without masking the varietal character. Brilliant golden yellow in the glass. Pear, yellow stone fruit, lime blossom, citrus zest and a hint of hazelnut on the nose. The palate is full-bodied, silky and delicately melting, supported by fresh acidity and subtle spice. The finish is long, cool and salty-mineral. A modern interpretation of the indigenous grape variety - focussed, elegant and absolutely harmonious. SUPERIORE.DE