Ribolla Gialla Colli Orientali del Friuli, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy

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The estate’s 2007 Ribolla Gialla is yet another wine endowed wth notable personality and clarity, both qualities that are exceedingly rare in this vintage. The wine possesses generous ripe fruit and an engaging full-bodied personality. Some tasters might find this style too intense for Ribolla, but the wine shows tons of balance and harmony. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2011. This is another set of gorgeous wines from proprietor Enzo Pontoni. Sadly the wines remain nearly impossible to find, even in Italy. I remember visiting the estate a few years back and trying (without any luck) to purchase a few bottles. Pontoni showed me his allocations. I assumed we were looking at case allocations, but the numbers turned out to be bottles! For those lucky enough to find them, these remain some of Italy’s finest wines. 2007 was a challenging vintage for whites, yet Pontoni rose to the challenge and made some wonderful wines that capture the essence of his vineyards. Unfortunately Pontoni wasn’t happy with his 2005 Merlots (from another difficult vintage) and he decided not to bottle the wines.Importer: Small Vineyards, Seattle, WA; tel. (206) 933-6767

The 2006 Ribolla Gialla reveals a full-bodied, open-knit texture loaded with well-defined notes of honey, apricots and melon. It offers outstanding purity in a ripe, generous style, with superb length and lingering notes of minerality that frame the finish. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2014. It took me several years to get an appointment at Miani. Proprietor Enzo Pontoni literally lives in his vineyards, stopping home only for lunch and dinner. Pontoni represents the finest of the artisanal approach to winemaking and his meticulous, some would say fanatical, devotion to his old-vine plots is legendary. Once the wines are in the cellar a strict barrel selection takes place prior to bottling, meaning that the estate releases a total of roughly 8,000 bottles. Pontoni's 2006 whites have come together nicely since I first tasted them in barrel in December 2006. Readers fortunate enough to find this producer's superb 2004 whites should not hesitate to do so as they are terrific. His 2005s, from a much weaker vintage, are less satisfying. Pontoni's reds are equally breathtaking, as these 2003s and 2004s attest. The only problem will be finding them as quantities are minuscule. Pontoni told me that as he has gotten older he has moved away from the purely massive style that characterized some of his earlier wines (like the legendary 1997 Calvari) towards a more finessed, elegant approach. I can't think of too many wines I would rather have on my dinner table than those of Enzo Pontoni and Miani. These are among the finest wines being made anywhere. Importer: Small Vineyards, Seattle,WA; tel. (206) 933-6767