This direct import was "discovered" for us by the same broker who sells us Pasquiers. A small family-run operation
With 40 ha in DOC Friuli, they care about the bees (SNQP = sustainable certification for the wines / close to organic certification/ and also for workers ).
They are located in Friuli Venezia Giulia.
From our friends at the winery:
"The lower Friuli area is a landscape particularly favourable to the cultivation of vine. This is possible due to the proximity to the Adriatic Sea that mitigates the temperatures, but also due to the presence of the mountain range of the Julian Prealps that divert the cold northern currents away"
Extremely aromatic with plums, crushed strawberries, rose flower, powdery dirt, before turning to cherries. Hints of flower stems. Perfumed. Full-bodied and very, very firm. Rather steely. Tight at the end. It opens beautifully in an hour or so.
Purple fruit with lavender and seaweed. Hints of volcanic salt and peaches. Full-bodied yet tensioned and very focused. Muscular and very, very long. Flexing with form and beauty. Uniquely Occidental. Mind-blowing sophistication with its own personality. ...
The 2011 Viña Tondonia Reserva is darker and shows riper fruit, a rounder palate and some dusty tannins. A year of ripeness, concentration and tannin, the wine is powerful with the finesse of Tondonia. Tasting this next to the textbook 2010 Tondonia revea...
Pears, peaches and hints of honeysuckle. So perfumed with rocky undertones and notes of bananas and flint. Full-bodied with a freshness and depth that is impressive and extremely long and persistent. Flint and lime at the end. Salty and intense. Love to d...