I Clivi di Ferdinando Zanusso, “Galea” Friulano

I would rank today’s Friulano from I Clivi as one of the top 10 white wines being made in Italy right now. But that might not be enough for many of you, so perhaps some ‘comps’ to other great whites of the world would help: Although the Friulano grape is a genetic mutation of Sauvignon Blanc, its most compelling expressions hint at serious white Burgundy, richer styles of Austria Grüner Veltliner, and classic coastal whites like Albariño all at once.Overall, the white wines of Friuli-Venezia Giulia (and some of their “orange” siblings) have been demanding entry into the world’s elite ranks for a while now, only to be denied entry by gatekeepers with badly outdated images of Italian white wine. Well, it’s time they were let in—and let’s start with “Galea,” a single-vineyard bottling from a 70-year-old plot in Corno di Rosazzo, in the Friulian province of Udine. The marl and sandstone soils of the Galea vineyard (known locally as flysch) give rise to a textured and deeply mineral white t