2020 Flors di Uis

As is usually the case, Gianfranco Gallo is more than happy to start pulling bottles from his cellar, both good and bad vintages, to show the evolution that is possible from the wines of Vie di Romans. Keep in mind that this winery and its vineyards are located in the southeastern plains of Isonzo, where on a clear day you can view all of the surrounding regions of Friuli. The reason for this is their lower elevation mixed with generally flat terrain. No one had considered making world class wines here before Gianfranco Gallo decided that he would, through intense research and experimentation over 30 years, as well as the willingness to accept new technologies, create this impactful portfolio of Friulian whites that are not only fantastic upon release but also able to mature, in some cases, over decades. For a full detail of the winery, readers should look at my article “Against all Odds: Vie di Romans Sauvignon Blanc Vieris”, October 19, 2021. As for the current release wines from the 2020 vintage, they show the sumptuous warmth of the year but balanced and very much in the house style, where concentration of fruit, acids and minerality form a wonderful harmony. The season was very warm during the first half of the summer; however it became more moderate in August, coupled with drastic diurnal shifts between night and day. These conditions allowed the fruit to find a balanced maturity, and the result is a very sexy vintage that will provide long and open drinking windows. Gallo also introduced me to his 2017 Merlot Voos dai Ciamps, a wine that hasn’t been made since 2003. These vines are planted in a clay-rich parcel of the Vie Di Romans vineyards, where the previous bottlings were coming from parcels that would better benefit white varieties. Another highlight was the 2010 Pinot Grigio Dessimis from the winery cellar, a wine I never thought of as a bottle to mature, and sure enough, it left me in awe.