Sfera Bianco — Ribolla Gialla 100% Ribolla Gialla • Colli Orientali, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy — This is the collaboration with I Clivi, a name that carries real weight with anyone who follows Friuli closely — they're known for doing less to their wine, not more, and letting the ponca soil (that alternating marl-and-sandstone you find all over this part of Friuli) do the talking. Organic fruit off a 1.5-hectare site, vines between fifteen and thirty years old, direct-pressed instead of macerated on the skins the way a lot of orange-leaning Ribolla goes. Fourteen days fermenting in stainless, then months resting on its lees with regular stirring to build texture without adding weight. Structured, saline, built for the table. Proof that Ribolla Gialla doesn't need a month of skin contact to have something to say.
