A nice chicken salad wine, the Tenuta Luisa 2018 Friuli Isonzo Friulano opens to slightly viscous layers of pear, melon and honey. This wine feels a bit heavier or creamier compared to it peers, and much of that extra texture and density feels like it comes from the ripe nature of the fruit. There is a note of sweet almond on the close, but otherwise it offers a very smooth, lean to medium-weight approach. Some 30,000 bottles were produced.

This is a tightly knit white wine with a noticeable textural impact. The 2016 Friuli Isonzo Friulano opens to thick lines with ripe melon, preserved lemon and dried apricot. The wine glides thickly over the palate with a warming, unctuous texture. Some 51,000 bottles were produced, so you should have no problem locating this Italian value offer.

The Tenuta Luisa 2014 Friuli Isonzo Friulano is a tight and simple wine with a pretty presentation of mildly fragrant aromas. The wine opens to a luminous golden color and segues to aromas of white rose, honey and summer peach. This Friulano shows an easy-drinking approach and crisp lines, but it represents a solid winemaking effort nonetheless.

Friulano is a wonderfully unique indigenous grape from northern Italy that deserves more attention among those searching for a food-friendly white wine with personality, persistency and staying power. This expression offers a lighthearted interpretation with aromas of yellow rose, almond skin, stone fruit and melon. ——M.L.(6/1/2011)—— 87