Livio Felluga is one of the most historically significant and widely respected estates in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the north-eastern Italian wine region that borders Slovenia and Austria and has been a crucible for Italy’s finest white wines over the past half century. Founded by Livio Felluga himself in the 1950s, the estate is now managed by his children and grandchildren and farms approximately 155 hectares of vines across the Collio and Colli Orientali del Friuli appellations, producing wines from both indigenous varieties such as Tocai Friulano, Ribolla Gialla and Refosco and international varieties including Merlot, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc.

The Livio Felluga Merlot is produced from estate vines in the Colli Orientali del Friuli, where the combination of Eocene flysch soils (alternating marl and sandstone known locally as ponca) and the region’s markedly continental climate, with warm days and cool nights, produces Merlot of elegant, restrained character quite unlike the plush, opulent style associated with Pomerol or California. Friulian Merlot tends toward red fruit precision, firm mineral acidity and a structural elegance that makes it one of Italy’s most distinctive expressions of the international variety. The 2017 vintage in north-eastern Italy was warm and concentrated.

Livio Felluga’s wines have been reviewed across all five approved publications, with the estate’s flagship Terre Alte white consistently earning scores in the 93 to 96 range from Wine Advocate, James Suckling and Wine Enthusiast. The Merlot, as a varietal red within the estate’s range, receives less consistent individual approved critic attention than the estate’s white wines, and the specific verified score for the 2017 vintage was not confirmed at the time of this research. However, the pedigree of the estate and the quality of the appellation make this a Merlot of genuine interest for collectors who seek terroir-driven Italian red wines outside the well-trodden Barolo and Brunello zones.

Medium ruby with a refined nose of red cherry, plum, dried herb, cedar, iron mineral and the distinctive freshness of the Friulian ponca soils. Medium-bodied on the palate with polished tannins, good natural acidity and a focused, mineral finish of excellent length. Drink from 2024 through 2030.