The Ronco delle Betulle 2018 Friuli Colli Orientali Ribolla Gialla opens to an evolved bouquet with dried fruit, cream pastry, caramel and butterscotch. Indeed, this 2018 vintage is more oxidative in style compared to the older vintages this estate so kindly submitted to my attention. (Those wines are also reviewed in this report.) However, this style is desired, and it represents one of the most traditional interpretations of the Ribolla Gialla grape that shows nicely when executed with simple and straightforward winemaking. There is a sweet note of honey and almond on the close. Fruit is harvested on the ripe side, and the wine is partially fermented with extended skin contact lasting one week. The rest (about 65% of the total) sees a brief 16 or 18 hours of skin contact. Aging takes place in both steel and wood. It should be interesting to watch this wine's medium-term evolution. About 9,000 bottles were made.

The 2014 Friuli Colli Orientali Ribolla Gialla opens to fine aromas of crushed mineral and granite followed by white peach and grapefruit. Ribolla Gialla is one of the most promising varieties of Northeast Italy and this expression offers an informal approach with a fresh core of fruit aromas that is the real heart and soul of this wine. The finish is tight and fresh with a silky texture. Late harvest fruit sees sur lie aging. Some 15% of the wine is aged in oak for five months.

Ronco delle Betulle’s 2012 Friuli Colli Orientali Ribolla Gialla is not an understated wine by any measure. Its budding complexity keeps your attention as does its pristine aromas of candied fruit, caramel, lychee fruit, dried sage and crushed mineral. Indeed, those endnotes of talc powder and brimstone add a pleasant surprise. Drink: 2014-2016. Founded by Giovanbattista Adami, Ronco delle Betulle is run today by daughter Ivana Adami and son Simone Sechi. The modern incarnation of this estate came to be in the 1990s and its wines faithfully reflect the qualities associated with the historic Rosazzo wine denomination. The samples presented this year performed strongly across the board, but I’d like to make a special call out to the Pignolo-based red. It’s a singular experience. Importer: Riahi Selections, www.riahiselections.com

Full and round, this Ribolla Gialla delivers stone fruit, melon and vanilla. It has pungent aromas of almond and a lean, compact texture, with power on the finish.——M.L.(11/15/2008)—— 86

In line with the best of Friuli winemaking tradition, this Ribolla Gialla boasts a luminous golden color and broad, wide-reaching notes of stone fruit, melon and honey. There’s nice heft to its texture that helps drive a chewy, spicy finish.——M.L.(12/1/2007)—— 86