Renato Keber Collio Sauvignon Riserva 2019

Renato Keber Collio Sauvignon Riserva 2019 is a refined expression of Sauvignon Blanc from one of Italy’s most respected white-wine regions. Crafted from an original French grape variety that found a second home in Friuli in the early 1900s, this Riserva highlights just how complex, textural and age-worthy Sauvignon can be in Collio. It’s a wine for those who enjoy Sauvignon Blanc with more depth, subtle oak influence, and a distinctly Old World character.

Tasting Notes
In the glass, the 2019 Riserva shows a luminous straw-yellow color with greenish reflections, hinting at both freshness and concentration. The nose is layered and evolving: expect notes of ripe citrus, white peach and gooseberry, intertwined with wild herbs, elderflower, crushed nettle and a delicate flinty, smoky edge. Gentle hints of vanilla, acacia blossom and sweet spices suggest time on lees and partial oak aging. On the palate, the wine is full and structured yet precise, with a vibrant backbone of acidity that keeps everything lifted. Flavors of lemon curd, grapefruit zest and juicy stone fruit mingle with savory nuances of sage, fresh-cut grass, and a saline, almost chalky minerality characteristic of Collio’s hills. The texture is creamy and rounded from extended aging, balanced by a long, taut finish. This Sauvignon Riserva is built to evolve: while already expressive, it should continue to gain complexity and tertiary notes (honey, beeswax, dried herbs) over the next 5–8 years, and potentially longer in excellent cellaring conditions.

Production
The grapes for Renato Keber’s Collio Sauvignon Riserva come from hillside vineyards in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, where the classic Collio terroir of “ponca” (layers of marl and sandstone) lends the wines their distinctive minerality and tension. The climate here is moderated by both the nearby Adriatic Sea and the Julian Alps, providing warm days, cool nights and a long, steady ripening season. Grapes are typically hand-harvested at optimal ripeness to preserve aromatic intensity and natural acidity, then gently pressed. Fermentation takes place in a combination of stainless steel and, in part, wooden vats or barrels to build depth and texture. Extended lees aging, with periodic bâtonnage, helps create the wine’s creamy mouthfeel and complexity, while careful maturation as a Riserva allows the Sauvignon character to integrate harmoniously with its mineral and subtle oak-driven notes.

Food & Serving
This is an excellent food wine, ideal for refined seafood dishes such as grilled turbot, sea bass, scallops, or prawns, as well as delicately sauced white meats like veal or roast chicken with herbs. It also pairs beautifully with risotti (asparagus, spring vegetables, or seafood), goat’s cheese, fresh cheeses, and vegetable-driven dishes with fennel, peas or artichokes. Serve at 10–12°C (50–54°F) to showcase its aromatics and structure. A brief decant of 20–30 minutes can help the wine open up, especially in its youth, revealing additional layers of fruit, spice and minerality.

Producer
Renato Keber is part of a long-standing winemaking family in the Collio area of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, a region renowned for producing some of Italy’s most distinctive and age-worthy white wines. Situated in prime hillside locations near the Slovenian border, the estate focuses on expressing the character of Collio’s unique soils and microclimates through carefully tended vineyards and relatively low-intervention cellar work. Over the years, the Keber name has become synonymous with quality, terroir-driven whites that balance intensity with elegance, contributing significantly to Collio’s reputation among sommeliers and wine collectors worldwide. Their Sauvignon, in particular, has helped demonstrate that this originally French grape—introduced to Friuli in the early 20th century—can produce wines of real gravitas and longevity in Italian soil.

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