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I Clivi

Location - Corno di Rosazzo, Friuli

Winemaker - Mario Zanusso

Farming - Certified Organic

Size - 12 Hectares

'My idea was to let history speak through the wine, by making as “transparent” a wine as possible, in which soil, climate and tradition may come fully through and be perceived without interferences. A wine truly grown, whose character is shaped entirely in the vineyard by soil, climate and vines and is in no way altered in the cellar, a wine that stands solely on itself, on its own intrinsic qualities, and is not made to suffer any intervention or “improvement”. In short, purest terroir expression, “without addition or diminishing”. The recipe is organic cultivation in the vineyard, with naturally low yields which seldom reach 20 hectolitres per hectare, and spontaneous, non-interventionist winemaking to ensure absolute integrity.'  - Ferdinando Zanusso, Founder

Their varieties include the native varieties Ribolla Gialla, Friulano (formerly known as Tocai Friulano), Malvasia Istriana, & Verduzzo (in dry form, which is unusual). The vineyards are located in Collio and Colli Orientali del Fruili, the two best areas of Friuli.  All of the wines are grown organically, and are cleanly but very naturally made, expressive, distinctive and mouthwatering. The winemaking is essentially the same with all of the whites, except the lees-aged wines and the sparkler. The whites are not macerated with the skins, they are fermented using indigenous yeasts, and they age on the fine lees until bottling.

I Clivi
Wines in our Portfolio

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Friulano "San Lorenzo"

  • Varietal: 100% Friulano

  • Appellation: Collio DOC

  • Soil Type: Marl and sandstone 

  • Vine Age: 80 year-old vines

  • Harvest: Harvested by hand

  • Winemaking: Fermented with indigenous yeasts; 12 months of contact with its fine lees, in steel. Then, bottle.

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Friulano "Brazan"

  • Varietal: 90% Friulano, 10% Malvasia Istriana

  • Appellation: Collio DOC

  • Soil Type: Marl and sandstone 

  • Vine Age: 80 year-old vines

  • Harvest: Harvested by hand

  • Winemaking: Fermented with indigenous yeasts; Matured 24 months on fine lees, always in stainless steel. This long maturation drives the wine aromatic expression from primary, variety-related aromas to a deeper, more terroir-driven character.

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Friulano "Galea"

  • Varietal: 90% Friulano, 10% Verduzzo

  • Appellation: Friuli Colli Orientali DOC

  • Soil Type: Marl and sandstone 

  • Vine Age: 70 year-old vines

  • Harvest: Harvested by hand

  • Winemaking: Fermented with indigenous yeasts; Matured 24 months on fine lees, always in stainless steel. This long maturation drives the wine aromatic expression from primary, variety-related aromas to a deeper, more terroir-driven character.

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Verduzzo

  • Varietal: 100% Verduzzo

  • Appellation: Friuli Colli Orientali DOC

  • Soil Type: Marl and sandstone 

  • Vine Age: 70 year-old vines

  • Harvest: Harvested by hand

  • Winemaking: Fermented with indigenous yeasts; matures 6 months on its own lees, always remaining in stainless steel vats

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Ribolla Gialla "A Tessa"

  • Varietal: 100% Ribolla Gialla

  • Appellation: Venezia Giulia IGP

  • Soil Type: Marl and sandstone 

  • Vine Age: 10 year-old vines

  • Harvest: Harvested by hand

  • Winemaking: Fermented with indigenous yeasts; matures 6 months on its own lees, always remaining in stainless steel vats

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Ribolla Gialla Brut

  • Varietal: 100% Ribolla Gialla

  • Appellation: Collio DOC

  • Soil Type: Marl and sandstone 

  • Vine Age: 15 year-old vines

  • Harvest: Harvested by hand

  • Winemaking: RBL’s bubbles are originated by the primary fermentation of the must, differing substantially from conventional sparkling processes – Champenoise and Charmat, both made by inducing a secondary fermentation of a wine by the addition of sugar and yeasts. Our starting point is therefore a must, not a finished wine. The bubbles are made by retaining in the fermenting must the CO2 produced in the final stages of its fermentation. So there is no secondary fermentation – there is no need for it – and therefore no addition of sugar nor yeasts. In other words, we press our Ribolla grapes and rack the resulting must in an open vat where it ferments, releasing the CO2 into the air. Towards the end of the fermentation, when the residual sugar is around 25 grams per liter – just what it takes to produce the bubbles at a pressure of 6/7 bars – the vat is closed so that the bubbles released by the fermentation of the remaining sugar are retained in the wine. The wine is then left in the same vat to mature on its lees and subsequently bottled under pressure. In this way the grape variety retains its aroma and salinity in a primary frame.

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