Tre Bicchieri 2019 Previews. Friuli Venezia Giulia's best wines

Nov 16 2018, 10:00 | by Gambero Rosso

If you're looking for a great Italian white wine, then you should think about Friuli Venezia Giulia. Here are the top ones selected by our Vini d'Italia guide.

Once again some 16 wines broke through the threshold of excellence and received Tre Bicchieri. They’re all whites, and all made both with native grapes and international varieties, thus confirming Friuli Venezia Giulia’s propensity for the typology. It’s commonly thought that white wines are already ready in the spring, that they aren’t particularly ageworthy and that they should be drunk within a year of vintage. But a quick consultation of the wines awarded proves otherwise: indeed, less than half of these were 2017s. It’s a significant statistic that points up the sensibility of the producers here, who understand the territory’s potential for white grapes well-enough to renounce immediate sales in favor of lengthier aging in the bottle. Russiz Superiore’s 2013 Sauvignon Riserva is a perfect example, as is Villa Russiz’s 2014 Chardonnay Grafin del la Tour, and Primosic’s 2015 Chardonnay Gmajne. They represent 3 of the 12 Tre Bicchieri attributed to Collio Goriziano, a list that also includes Angoris’s 2016 Collio Bianco Riserva, Ronco dei Tassi’s 2016 Fosari, Collavini’s 2017 Broy and Livon’s 2017 Solarco. Capping off the roster is Schiopetto’s legendary 2017 Friulano, Marco Felluga’s 2016 Pinot Grigio Mongris Riserva, Tiare’s Sauvignon and two fantastic Pinot Biancos, one by Door Prinic, the other by Toros. Indeed, this year Pinot Bianco took home the most number of awards. In addition to Collio’s, there’s Zorzettig’s 2017 Pinot Bianco Myò and Torre Rosazza’s 2017 Pinot Bianco, as well as a new entry, Masut da Rive’s 2016 Pinot Bianco. The last of these is from the Friuli Isonzo appellation, where the stars Vie di Romans and Tenuta Luisa continue to shine thanks to their 2016 Sauvignon Piere and 2016 Desiderium i Ferretti (respectively). Tunella took him a gold with their 2016 BiancoSesto, a mix of native grapes. Volpe Pasini once again delivers with their 2017 Sauvignon Zuc di Volpe, as did La Viarte with their 2017 Friulano Liende and Livio Felluga with their 2016 Rosazzo Bianco Terre Alte. Jermann’s sumptuous 2016 Capo Martino managed to beat out their Vintage Tunina, and for us it’s the White of the Year. Grave’s Le Monde also earned top honors thanks to their 2017 Chardonnay. And certain regional macerated whites also found their peak expression: Skerk’s 2016 Ograde, Carpino’s 2015 Malvasia and Podversic’s Nekaj.

Capo Martino ’16 - Jermann

Collio Bianco Broy ’17 - Eugenio Collavini

Collio Bianco Fosarin ’16 - Ronco dei Tassi

Collio Bianco Giulio Locatelli Ris. ’16 - Tenuta di Angoris

Collio Bianco Solarco ‘17 - Livon

Collio Chardonnay Gmajne ’15 - Primosic

Collio Chardonnay Gräfin de La Tour ‘14 - Villa Russiz

Collio Friulano ’17 - Schiopetto

Collio Pinot Bianco ’17 - Doro Princic

Collio Pinot Bianco ’17 - Franco Toros

Collio Pinot Grigio Mongris Ris. ’16 - Marco Felluga

Collio Sauvignon Tiare ’17 - Roberto Snidarcig