I Clivi Verduzzo "Bianco degli Arzillari" 2007

Roughly two or three vintages ago, the talented and eloquent Ferdinando and Mario Zanusso (father and son) decided to remove the Verduzzo from their two flagship whites, Brazan and Galea, and just make them all Tocai Friulano. Some of us were sad to see this change, but what we didn't know was that we were going to gain three new wines - a 100% Friulano Brazan and Galea, and, a 100% Verduzzo bottling.  

Even better, we could not have anticipated that the Verduzzo would be even more value driven than the I Clivi Galea and Brazan.  But, when good looks and intelligence join forces you get these awesome perks! Which leaves us very pleased to feature Verduzzo "Bianco degli Arzillari" from these two gentlemen.  

Who has had 100% Verduzzo? We hadn't, so comparing it to something else is a bit difficult, but think spiced pear and because it's a tad older - 2007 - it's rich and giving. It coats the mouth with perfectly ripe stone fruit, great minerality enters at mid-palate and then the finish is long and full of that coastal fennel piece you get from Friuli. Friulian whites are some of the most powerful unoaked white wines going - simply sublime in their oily texture and great acidity. Really something fantastic! Not to mention it's a sort of "like water for chocolate" wine to us - you can taste and feel the positive emotions in every bottle. 

I Clivi Verduzzo 2007  $14 

meet the winemaker

Mario + Ferdinando Zanusso
These adorable two gentlemen (we mean that in the true sense of the word) work extremely hard on their small estate to create something out of the ordinary. 

In Ferdinado's own words:
My idea was to let history speak through the wine, by making as “transparent” a wine as possible, in which soil, climate and tradition may come fully through and be perceived without interferences. A wine truly grown, whose character is shaped entirely in the vineyard by soil, climate and vines and is in no way altered in the cellar, a wine that stands solely on itself, on its own intrinsic qualities, and is not made to suffer any intervention or “improvement”. In short, purest terroir expression, “without addition or diminishing”.The recipe is organic cultivation in the vineyard, with naturally low yields which seldom reach 20 hectolitres per hectare, and spontaneous, non-interventionist winemaking to ensure absolute integrity.

The first wine was produced in 1996. Current production is around 1,500 cases of white wine DOC Colli Orientali del Friuli and DOC Collio from the local Tocai, Verduzzo and Malvasia varieties, and a 500 cases of red wine DOC Colli Oriental del Friuli from a particularly well acclimatized clone of Merlot, introduced here 150 years ago. 
www.clivi.it