The 2008 Malvasia is another richly-textured offering. Here, too, the style favors a round expression of fruit that has been achieved at some loss of the aromatics that make Malvasia such a unique wine.Anticipated maturity: 2009-2011. Gianni Menotti makes some of the richest, most fully-flavored wines readers will come across in Friuli. The entry-level 2008 whites appear to be excellent across the board, but it is the 2006 Merlot Graf de La Tour that steals the show among these new releases.Importer: Empson, USA, Alexandria, VA; tel. (703) 684-0900

Both stainless steel and oak are ably used for this wine, as the tank-fermented 2002 Malvasia, quite pure in its expression of apricot fruit, lavender, and cinnamon, quickly demonstrates.