2009 Miani Friulano Buri

The 2009 Friulano Buri emerges from the glass with a textured, kaleidoscopic fabric of finely-knit honeyed apricots, jasmine and crushed rocks. This shows stunning length and a round, harmonious finish. A very slight element of sweetness suggests some of this wine may have undergone malolactic fermentation, which is generally unusual here. Once again, the finish is supremely harmonious. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016. Enzo Pontoni is simply on another planet. In the best years his wines frankly have no peers in Italy. The textural richness and depth Pontoni coaxes from his old-vine parcels is a marvel. The 2009 whites show an extra dimension of ripeness from a heat wave in August of that year that gave the wines more body than is often the case but without the excess of truly torrid vintages. Quite simply, I was blown away by what I tasted. For what it’s worth, I bought as much of these wines as I could afford. As usual, the wines are aged in French oak (roughly 40% new) and the malolactic fermentations are typically blocked. Importer: Small Vineyards, Seattle, WA; tel. (206) 933-6767