Villa Russiz Sauvignon de La Tour Collio, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy

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The 2010 Sauvignon de la Tour possesses more harmony than the normal bottling. My sense is that the wine is being rushed through its elevage. Today the elements haven’t fully come together. This will almost certainly improve with bottle age, but it could be a lot better if it weren’t being rushed to market. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2016. Villa Russiz appears to be in transition at the moment, after the departure of longtime winemaker Gianni Menotti over the summer. Hopefully things will settle down. The estate is run by a non-profit organization, and my feeling has long been that the potential of these vineyards in the heart of the Collio has yet to fully be realized.Importer: Empson, USA, Alexandria, VA; tel. (703) 684-0900

The 2008 Sauvignon de La Tour is a gorgeous, layered wine that marries the characteristic bouquet of Sauvignon with a more generous and ripe concept of fruit. The wine offers outstanding length and a refined, polished finish. My only quibble here is minor; this wine is being released far too young, and while that may generate a faster short-term economic benefit, there is also a risk consumers won’t fully appreciate the wine and may be less likely to purchase it in the future. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2015. 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

The estate’s Sauvignon De La Tour is typically one of my favorite Friulian Sauvignons, but in 2007 it suffers from many of the same issues I found in the regular bottling; namely, the aromas and flavors lack focus. The wine does offer greater ripeness and richness than the regular bottling, which compensates to some extent, but this remains an uncharacteristically out of balance version of this wine. Bottle age may help, but only to a limited extent. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2012. Villa Russiz is one of Friuli’s top estates, but this is an uneven set of releases owing to the challenges of the 2007 vintage. The whites in particular show the unfocused aromatics and overly heavy quality which is common in this vintage.Importer: Empson, USA, Alexandria, VA; tel. (703) 684-0900

This standout expression of the excellent Sauvignon de la Tour offers brilliant luminosity and pristine aromas of passion fruit, kiwi and Thai basil. The most extraordinary quality here is the purity and intensity of the wine’s beautiful bouquet.——M.L.(3/1/2009)—— 90