Il Casato Sauvignon Blanc Friuli DOC 2020

This particular Sauvignon Blanc, bottled in rather peculiar Royal Champagne bottle  had been rated a score of 97/100 by Luca Maroni. It’s a product of producer Tenute Salvaterra, which is in term shared held by Swiss wine group Schenk.

Friuli DOC was a regional appellation, only recently approved in 2016. It allows a wide range of international varieties to be used, given it’s being entirely planted and bottled within the region. Sauvignon Blanc, or sometimes simply called Sauvignon locally is one of most successful white varieties planted near Eastern Friuli, near Slovenian border. Possibly due to local climate, partly Mediterranean, partly continental. The wine often shows both racy, grassy flavours, and quite ripe tropical fruit characters. It’s a mid-ripening variety amongst all local choice, can yield decent quality while being productive.

For the 2020 vintage, following the harvest around mid-September, the grapes are subjected to a cold maceration process. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature of 12 to 14 °C. The finish product is a greenish gold wine with a delicate bouquet. There are plenty of fruity notes and hints of sage and elderberry. On the palate it is rich and elegant and characterized by a persistent finish.

It’s important to note that far majority of international varieties in Friuli, such as Sauvignon, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay or Cabernet Franc, arrived into the region from France in early 19th century. The cuttings had been traded by Venetian merchants, these genetic materials lived before Phylloxera devastated much of France later that century. Some that is preserved in Friuli are distinctively local, not traceable in France or any other parts of the world.