Tarlao Friulano Albero del Noce Aquileia 2022

Friuli is known as one of the best places in the world for white wine. And boy is it ever. The soils are silty loam and clay -- and in the case of this bottle, the vines are over 40 years old. The complexity of the fruit is exceptional. To find a well-priced producer delivering great quality amid all the expensive Friulian producers in northeastern Italy was a wonderful surprise.

Tarlao’s origin story goes back to very ancient times. We’re talking about the B.C. era! According to the winery’s story, the area of Aquileia -- a town in the Friuli region -- was founded in 181 B.C. Aquileia was a major trade center during the Roman Empire because of its strategic location, and even then, its wines had become well known. In 1975, the countryside of Aquileia became a protected area – a denominazione origine controllee, or DOC, as well as a UNESCO World Heritage site. These wines have got to be good, right?! Absolutely.

Tarlao’s viticultural and enological history starts with a grandfather named Igino, who purchased property on Tarlao’s site. Of course, the winery has been passed down through the family for many years, and currently, Sabino runs the winery while Francesco heads up winemaking. Francesco worked in prestigious wineries in the U.S. and Argentina, as well as in Aquileia. And from those other regions he brought home modern winemaking techniques to Aquileia.

We bet you wanna know what it tastes like though, right?  Well, for starters, to get some of the technical stuff out of the way, these 100% Friulano grapes undergo 12 hours of skin contact maceration and stainless steel fermentation. The nose is full of pome and stone fruits like pears and apricots with a bit of marzipan. The palate follows suit, adding some zippy acidity, ocean-spray salinity, and flinty minerality to boot. It’s all kinds of complex and delicious and makes our mouths water and crave more.