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Artisan Wine · Livio Felluga · The Patriarch of Friuli
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Friuli Colli Orientali · Est. 1956
| Triple 94 Points |
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Parker · Enthusiast · Suckling |
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$54.99 |
The Mind-Blowing Legendary Italian White Blend Rivals Burgundy 3x the Price
The 2022 Livio Felluga "Illivio" — Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay, and rare Picolit, dedicated by his children to the Patriarch of Friuli himself. Only 700 cases imported.
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Pinot Bianco + Chardonnay + Picolit · 700 Cases Imported · 5 Critics Scored It
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A Personal Note
Dear Artisans,
Some producers earn a nickname. Livio Felluga earned a title: "the patriarch of the wines of Friuli." Back from World War II, he sealed a deep bond with the hillsides of Friuli by reviving the abandoned vineyards of Rosazzo. He founded his winery in 1956 after relocating from his native Istria — though the family's winemaking traditions reach back to the mid-19th century — and is credited with innovating and mastering modern winemaking in Italy.
When Felluga passed away in 2016 at the ripe old age of 102, his reputation for exceptionally lush, crisp, and perfectly balanced wines extended far beyond Friuli — his bottles are recognized the world over as the finest in their categories. Today his son Andrea leads the family winery, farming 370 acres of rolling hillside vineyards across the Collio and Colli Orientali — a winemaker's dream of a climate, shielded by the Alps to the north, moderated by the Adriatic to the south, on complex marl soils that pour minerality into every glass.
The wine below carries his name twice over: "Illivio," created in 1998 by Livio's children and dedicated to him for his 85th birthday. The 2022 just pulled off something rare — 94 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Wine Enthusiast, and James Suckling, all at once, at $54.99.
"I helped a member of a very prestigious and exclusive wine society win the highest award: the best wine pairing dinner experience of the year, with this wine. Every member demanded to buy as many cases as they could fit in their cellars - but with so little imported I could not feed the frenzy."
James Tran
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The Rosazzo hillsides Livio revived after WWII; the family range; and the Patriarch himself — who made wine past his 100th birthday.
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Why This Matters
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Three critics. One number: 94. Wine Advocate, Wine Enthusiast, and James Suckling all landed on 94 points — with Vinous at 93 and Wine Spectator at 91 behind them. Five scores, no weak ones. |
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A birthday gift to a legend. Illivio was created by Livio's children for his 85th birthday, uniting strength with elegance — Pinot Bianco and Chardonnay lifted by Picolit, one of Italy's rarest grapes. |
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A terroir built for whites. Alpine shelter to the north, the Adriatic to the south, and ancient marl "ponca" soils — the combination behind the wines "recognized the world over as the finest in their categories." |
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There is almost none of it. Just 700 cases of Illivio were imported to the entire United States — and we are down to our last 13 bottles, alongside the final bottles of four more Felluga rarities below. |
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The Wine · Dedicated to the Patriarch
2022 Livio Felluga "Illivio" Bianco Friuli Colli Orientali.
WA 94 · WE 94 · JS 94 · VM 93 · WS 91 — rounded, creamy, and intense, with a mineral soul.
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| Triple 94 |
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Rare Picolit Blend |
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700 Cases Imported |
2022 Livio Felluga "Illivio" Bianco D.O.C.
Friuli Colli Orientali, Italy · Pinot Bianco · Chardonnay · Picolit
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94
Wine Advocate
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94
Wine Enthusiast
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94
James Suckling
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93
Vinous
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91
Wine Spectator
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Hand-harvested in small crates, fermented and settled on the lees in small oak casks, Illivio is rounded, creamy and intense — apricots, mango, and yellow peach over sweet spice, acacia honey, and pastry cream, with a lingering finish of candied kumquat and a pleasing iodine tang. Strength united with elegance, exactly as the Patriarch would have wanted. Pour it with fish, risotto, or fresh cheeses all summer.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
94 Points
"The Livio Felluga 2022 Friuli Colli Orientali Illivio is an assembly of Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay and a small portion of Picolit, with Pinot Bianco leading the blend and setting a refined, understated tone. The bouquet shows quince, pear and Golden Delicious apple, followed by a beautifully layered and structured mouthfeel that is tight, linear and direct, with no sense of heaviness. Despite the hot and dry conditions of the 2022 vintage, the wine delivers an ideal balance of natural freshness and minerality. This blend offers special complexity."
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Wine Enthusiast
94 Points
"A masterful blend that proves power isn't everything... this is all about grace. The aromatics unfold deliberately, like a story being carefully told: cooked apples waiting to become tarte tatin, dusted with baking spices, gardenia and freesia blooms lending their delicate perfume, and whispers of dried mango adding exotic intrigue. The palate follows this elegant lead, serious without showing off, rich without heaviness. Those baked orchard fruits and sweet spices return, but they're kept in perfect tension by vibrant acidity and a stony mineral backbone that forms the wine's soul. Drink Now–2045." — Jeff Porter
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James Suckling
94 Points
"A complex and vibrant Collio. Apricots, Mirabelle plums, citrus and beeswax. Medium-bodied with tension and crisp acidity that are well integrated with vibrant peaches in the finish. Drink or hold."
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Vinous
93 Points
"The 2022 Bianco Illivio is remarkably pretty, with a nuanced mix of dried flowers, almond custard, lemon oil and freshly sliced white peaches. It is elegant in feel, with cooling acidity and supple textures complementing its ripe orchard fruits as an air of chamomile adds embellishment toward the close. The 2022's minerality comes through in the finish, nearly salty and with a steely resonance as hints of sour apple fade. Drink 2026–2031."
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Wine Spectator
91 Points
"A pure note of ripe and juicy pear is enriched by a skein of salted butter, vanilla and creamed almond accents, while tangerine peel acidity provides lively lift and focus. Long and creamy on the palate, with minerally smoke. Hints of dried thyme and chamomile emerge to linger on the finish. Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay and Picolit. Drink now through 2032. 700 cases imported." — Alison Napjus
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Appellation: Friuli Colli Orientali D.O.C.
Blend: Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay, Picolit · 13.5% ABV
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Cellar: Fermented & aged on lees in small oak casks
Drink: Now – 2045 (per Wine Enthusiast)
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| $54.99 |
Triple 94 · rivals Burgundy costing triple |
• 700 cases imported · Last 13 bottles at Artisan
Secure Illivio →
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Still In Stock · The Last Bottles
The Rest of Our Felluga Cellar. Eleven Bottles Remain, Total.
Four more expressions of the Patriarch's hillsides — down to single bottles on two of them.
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2019 Livio Felluga Friulano "Sigar"
Friuli Colli Orientali · Vines Planted 1963 · Aged in Terracotta
JS 93 · WE 92 · VM 92
Friuli's signature grape from vines planted in 1963, fermented and aged in terracotta jars for creamy texture and mineral cut. Vinous: "What a beauty."
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James Suckling
93 Points
"Extremely exotic, with peach-pie and cooked-apple character. Lemony undertones, as well as some honeysuckle and honey. Layered and flavorful. New single-vineyard wine from here. Drink now."
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• Only 6 bottles left
Secure Sigar Friulano →
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2020 Livio Felluga Pinot Grigio "Curubella"
Friuli Colli Orientali · Vines Planted 1981 · Ramato Style
WE 95 · JS 95 · WRO 93 · WS 91 · VM 90
Forget everything you think you know about Pinot Grigio: skin-macerated, aged in cocciopesto amphorae, copper-tinged "ramato" — the true essence of the variety. Only 75 cases were imported.
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Wine Enthusiast
95 Points
"The moment you lift the glass, the nobleness of Pinot Grigio is known. A cascade of aromas that can make one shudder: baked apples layered with spice and drizzled with warmed honey. The palate is an ocean crashing upon the palate with wave after wave of flavors — fresh apples, roasted almonds, sea salt, crushed stone. A wine for now or later, there will always be smiles." — Jeff Porter
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• The last bottle · 75 cases imported
Secure Curubella →
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2021 Livio Felluga "Terre Alte" Rosazzo DOCG
Rosazzo · Created 1981 · One of Italy's Most Prestigious Whites
JS 94 · DM 93 · WS 92
The flagship. Friulano, Pinot Bianco, and Sauvignon from the historic Terre Alte parcels of Rosazzo — the very hillsides Livio revived after the war — and considered one of Italy's most prestigious white wines since 1981. Only 25 cases came to the U.S.
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Decanter
93 Points
"A supremely delicious wine from the accomplished Livio Felluga winery. Soft peach, mango and hints of ripe green fruits rise from the glass, while the intense and flinty core is wrapped in layers of generous tropical flavours. Smoky and creamy touches lurk in the background. Fresh, indulgent and stylish." — James Button
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• Only 3 bottles left · 25 cases imported
Secure Terre Alte →
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2021 Livio Felluga "Abbazia di Rosazzo" Rosazzo DOCG
Rosazzo · Abbey Vineyards · 1,000 Years of Winegrowing
JS 96 on the Previous Release (2019)
A noble blend from the historic vineyards of the Abbazia di Rosazzo — 80-to-100-year-old vines of Friulano, Pinot Bianco, and Sauvignon with dashes of Malvasia and Ribolla Gialla, exalting over a thousand years of winegrowing at the abbey. Hail wiped out the 2020 entirely; the 2021 is the return. An extraordinarily long finish built to age.
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James Suckling
96 Points · 2019 Vintage
"Fascinating aromas of ash, wet stones, dried apple, hints of honey and flint. Full-bodied with great density and energy. Framed and solid. Old vines, 80 to 100 years old. Drink now."
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• The last bottle
Secure Abbazia di Rosazzo →
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The Bottom Line
Three 94s on one white. A century of mastery. Twenty-four bottles of Felluga left, all told.
Livio Felluga rebuilt the hillsides of Rosazzo after a world war, modernized Italian winemaking, and made wine past his 100th birthday. The Illivio — his children's tribute, at triple-94 form for $54.99 — is the smartest white-wine buy in the shop right now, and 700 imported cases will not last the summer.
Behind it: the last 6 bottles of Sigar, the final Curubella, 3 bottles of the flagship Terre Alte, and one lone Abbazia di Rosazzo. When a family makes wine this way for seventy years, the bottles disappear — quietly, and then all at once.
Cheers,
— James Tran
Artisan Wine & Spirits · Mountain View, CA
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The Felluga Collection · Last Bottles
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