The 2009 Vintage Tunina caresses the palate with juicy apricots, peaches and flowers. The 2009 is very nicely done for a year that did not provide the ideal conditions for this style of late-harvested white. Layers of fruit flow through to a caressing, energetic finish. Vintage Tunina is Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana and Picolit. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2017. This is a somewhat mixed set of wines from Silvio Jermann. The flagships Vintage Tunina, Capo Martino and Were Dreams are less exciting in 2009 than they are in cooler years such as 2008, when less extreme weather balances some of the overtness that is typical of the house’s approach with the top whites. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to taste any Pignolos this year. Readers should be aware that Jermann is owned by my wife’s uncle. I have always viewed education as an important component of wine criticism. An article on Friuli without these wines would have been incomplete and ultimately the consumer would have been poorer for their exclusion. For those reasons I have chosen to include the wines in this report. Neither my wife nor I have any financial or other interest, direct or indirect, in this property.Importer: Empson, USA, Alexandria, VA; tel. (703) 684-0900

The 2008 Vintage Tunina is terrific. The wine’s trademark expansive bouquet and generous fruit are beautifully balanced by a vein of minerality that is the hallmark of this cool year. All of the elements come together beautifully in the glass as the 2008 Vintage Tunina shows off layers of succulent peaches, pears, apricots, flowers and mint, along with hints of sweetness from the late-harvested fruit that is such a big component of the wine’s signature style. Vintage Tunina is Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana and Picolit. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2018. These new releases from Silvio Jermann include a number of fabulous bottles. In particular, I was impressed with the top 2008s, a vintage where the cool minerality of the year prevails over the house’s typically lush style, an approach I tend to find less interesting. Jermann has a new red on the horizon, the Pignolo Vigna Truss, from recently purchased hillside vineyards in Dolegna, the home of his massive, new cellar. Previously, Jermann’s Pignolo had mostly come from the flats of Villanova, a far less prestigious village in Isonzo, rather than the Collio. I tasted all of the 2009 entry-level whites from screwcaps. Readers should be aware that Jermann is owned by my wife’s uncle. I have always viewed education as an important component of wine criticism. An article on Friuli without these wines would have been incomplete and ultimately the consumer would have been poorer for their exclusion. For those reasons I have chosen to include the wines in this report. Neither my wife nor I have any financial or other interest, direct or indirect, in this property.Importer: Empson, USA, Alexandria, VA; tel. (703) 684-0900

The 2007 Vintage Tunina is very pretty in this vintage. An open, inviting bouquet leads to a perfumed, honeyed expression of ripe peaches, apricots, flowers and mint with gorgeous textural richness, depth and elegance. The round, soft finish is quite pretty. Vintage Tunina is a blend of Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana and Picolit that revolutionized the Italian wine scene in the mid- 1970s and served as the archetype for the blended cuvees that nearly every other producer in Friuli makes today. That said, these days Vintage Tunina is rarely as exciting as it was years ago. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2017. This set of new releases from Silvio Jermann is once again mixed. Some of the wines are outstanding, but a number of bottlings, the Pinot Grigio and Pinot Bianco in particular, are far off the pace of the region’s leading producers. In addition to the wines below, I also had a chance to taste Jermann’s 1999 Vintage Tunina, Dreams and Capo Martino. The wines have aged quite well, most notably the Capo Martino, which showed terrific freshness and minerality. Readers should be aware that Jermann is owned by my wife’s uncle. I have always viewed education as an important component of wine criticism. An article on Friuli without these wines would have been incomplete and ultimately the consumer would have been poorer for their exclusion. For those reasons I have chosen to include the wines in this report. Neither my wife nor I have any financial or other interest, direct or indirect, in this property.Importer: Empson, USA, Alexandria, VA; tel. (703) 684-0900