The 2009 Chardonnay Vie di Romans sweeps across the palate with layers of tropical fruit, sweet French oak, butterscotch and spices. The estate’s top Chardonnay is made in a style that emphasizes textural richness and volume, both of which this wine has in spades. Fans of New World Chardonnay will find much to admire here. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2017. Proprietor Gianfranco Gallo has a preference for rich, textured wines. In 2009, a year that saw a long heat wave at the end of August, many of his wines are even bigger than they usually are. The best selections, though, possess terrific overall balance. Vie di Romans has a fabulous website (www.viediromans.it) full of technical information on recent vintages and the estate’s wines, among other topics. Readers should be aware that Vie di Romans is owned by members of my wife's extended family. I have always viewed education as an important component of wine criticism. An article on Friuli without these wines would have been incomplete and ultimately the consumer would have been poorer for their exclusion. For those reasons I have chosen to include the wines in this report. Neither my wife nor I have any financial or other interest, direct or indirect, in this property.Importer: Vias Imports, New York, NY; tel. (212) 629-0200