I'm a huge fan of Falesco's Ferentano although I am aware that this is a white wine that will not appeal to everyone. The 2012 Ferentano is a pure expression of the little-known Roscetto grape (with thick skins) that is native to southern Umbria and Lazio. The wine offers slightly oxidized aromas of dried peach and caramel followed by pine nut, stone fruit and honeydew melon. In the mouth, Ferentano presents soft and enduring creaminess. I think it's just terrific. Some 20,000 bottles are produced.

The 2011 Ferentano offers a unique prospective on Roscetto, an indigenous white grape that is now slowly edging into the spotlight, thanks in great measure to this wine. Cryomaceration techniques are implemented to preserve aromatic freshness, and the wine later sees four months of oak for a bigger mouthfeel. It opens with a light golden color and well-shaped aromas of exotic fruit, peach, honey, butter and a distant powdering of white mineral. It’s an ambitious and articulate wine that pushes the outer boundaries of white wine making in Lazio and Umbria. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2018. Riccardo Cotarella’s Falesco straddles the Umbria-Lazio boarder and makes wines from both regions. Today his children and son-in-law all work with him at the winery. Importer: Winebow; www.winebow.com

Cotarella works with Roscetto, an indigenous Umbrian grape for his 2009 Ferentano, which is also Falesco's most ambitious white. Layers of rich, honeyed fruit flow from a mid-weight yet expressive frame. French oak gives the wine additional volume and breadth on the palate, but also marks the wine to a significant degree. Ultimately, I think Umbria is better suited to a simpler, fresher style, at least when it comes to whites. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2015. Brothers Renzo and Riccardo Cotarella make a wide range of wines at Falesco, their family-owned winery on the Umbria/Lazio border. As always, readers will find a number of great values in this lineup. The range includes three additions that have been in the works for the last few years; the Sagrantino, Syrah Tellus and Assisi Rosso, the wine I am personally the most excited about. A Leonardo Lo Cascio Selection, Winebow, Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620

The 2008 Ferentano is a rich, textured white loaded with sweet honey, tropical fruit, mint and flowers. The Ferentano sees full malolactic fermentation in French and American oak, which gives the wine much of its volume and richness, both of which carry through to an elegant finish. Ferentano is made from Roscetto, a once nearly-extinct variety native to Lazio. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2013. Proprietor Riccardo Cotarella is a fountain of energy. Cotarella is best known for his numerous consulting projects, but in recent years he has devoted considerable attention to reviving some of the indigenous and obscure varieties found in Lazio and Umbria.A Leonardo Lo Cascio Selection, Winebow, Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620