Style: White Wine

Producer: La Bellanotte

Grape: Sauvignon Blanc

Where: Friuli Isonzo DOC, Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Country: Italy

Taste: Bright, pale yellow in color, the nose displays delicate, herbaceous, with notes of pepper, menthol. It opens up to reveal aromas of ripe fruit, a white peach with hints of tropical fruit.In the mouth the wine echoes the nose with an underlying, citrusy character, crisp acidity and perfect balance.

Vibes with: Goat cheese, beets, asparagus, seafood and shellfish.

Organically Farmed

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I get excited every time I get to put a wine like this on the shelf. La Bellanotte is a family winery with more than three centuries of Tuscan and Friulian winemaking history behind it, run today by Cristina Visintin and winemaker Francesco Mreule — and every bottle carries that pride of place. Their vineyards in the Isonzo river valley are organically farmed, with low calcareous clay soils and a microclimate that's built for fuller-bodied, aromatic whites.

This Sauvignon Blanc is 100% estate-grown from 30-year-old vines, and it shows real complexity for a wine at this level. Pale yellow in the glass, it opens with delicate, herbaceous aromas — think pepper and menthol — before giving way to ripe white peach and hints of tropical fruit. On the palate it echoes that same fruit character, with a citrusy edge, crisp acidity, and a beautifully balanced finish. The wide day-to-night temperature swings in the Isonzo valley are what give this wine its layered flavor and structure. It's fermented and aged entirely in temperature-controlled stainless steel, then rests in bottle for 5-6 months before release, so what you're tasting is pure, precise fruit — nothing masked by oak.

Why I carry it: This is exactly the kind of bottle I love recommending as a sommelier — organic, family-made, and full of personality from a region that doesn't get enough love outside Italy. If you like Sauvignon Blanc but want something with more texture and story than the everyday bottle, start here. - Debbie

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