Ripe apricots, baked apples, lemon curd, vanilla cream and hazelnuts on the nose. It’s full-bodied with bright acidity and creamy, buttery layers. Salted butter and praline to close. A blend of pinot bianco, friulano, sauvignon blanc and ribolla gialla. Drink now.

What a cool and peppery nose with lots of tapenade, cherries, peppercorn and grilled red chili pepper. A juicy, spicy echoing on the palate with lots of fresh, cabernet franc characters, showing olives and fresh fruit. Linear, elegant and medium-bodied. A joy to drink now if you like slimmer, refined, cool-climate cabernet franc that has just ripened.

WINE ENTHUSIAST TOP 100 2020 - #40

A benchmark for Italian whites, this wine opens with inviting aromas of honeydew melon, exotic fruit, aromatic herb and a whiff of baking spice. On the delicious, polished palate, fresh acidity accompanies ripe apricot, white peach, gooseberry, cantaloupe and pastry cream before a lingering lemon-drop finale. 

TOP 50 WINES OF 2022  #3 

Psst, here’s a secret. Friuli has some of the most expressive Sauvignon Blanc on the planet. The northeastern Italian DOC of Collio Goriziano in Friuli-Venezia Giulia has historically been known for Pinot Grigios and Friulanos (also known as Sauvignon Vert), but it has more recently received overdue recognition for its stellar Sauvignon Blanc wines. One sip of Russiz Superiore’s Sauvignon Collio, and you’ll understand why. Its earthy, slightly savory palate offers a nice alternative to the New Zealand-style, pyrazine-forward Savvy B Americans are familiar with, offering highly concentrated notes of bright tomato and aromatic basil. With a mineral-rich texture, it’s the perfect match for a caprese salad with lots of flaky sea salt. The palate is a study in balance with excellent acidity and just the right grip.

Deeply floral and rich in the glass, the 2019 Sauvignon Riserva opens up with a spicy bouquet of sour melon and sweet exotic flowers offset by a whiff of lemon zest. This is pure class, refined, savory and mineral in style, nearly salty, with a twang of citrus-tinged acidity and tart orchard fruits that adds a lovely tension. The 2019 finishes staining and long, with a lingering concentration that puckers the cheeks, yet also promises many years of positive development. This is full of potential.

Complex cigar box, herb and spice notes show on the nose and palate of this creamy, medium- to full-bodied red. Fresh and finely knit, with supple tannins lending definition to the flavors of plumped cherry and spiced orange rind, complemented by hints of iron and graphite. Best from 2021 through 2029. 4,166 cases made, 550 cases imported.  

The 2021 Sauvignon Collio from Russiz Superiore shows the dimension the region can produce in the variety. The wine has a great balance of fruit, herbs, and minerals — less racy and “grassy” than Sauvignon from New Zealand and more like some of those from France’s Loire Valley. Flavors of green apple, apricot, and lemon-lime are accented by touches of flinty mineralogy and herbs like sage and thyme. There’s a bit of creamy softness on the long finish, a reflection of aging on the lees and a small percentage of the grapes fermented in oak barrels. Aging takes place in stainless steel tanks. It is a highly versatile wine that can be enjoyed with lots of simple fish and shellfish dishes, roast chicken, and vegetable-based risottos and pastas. it’s more expensive than many of the countless Sauvignons you’ll find from just about every corner of the wine world. But the price is offset by the fact that this is a singular Sauvignon Blanc that’s among the world’s best.