The Evolution of Collavini’s Iconic White Wine, Broy
​September 25, 2025

With family roots that run deep in the northeastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the wines of Eugenio Collavini are special, especially “Broy”, their iconic white blend. With a high-toned purity of expression, and rich complexity, Broy has emerged as a classic, demonstrating the alchemy of terroir while cementing a family’s winemaking journey over 125 years.

This summer, I had the opportunity to explore Broy’s journey in a vertical tasting across six significant vintages with Luigi Collavini, who is in charge of PR and marketing. In general, Broy is an opulent wine, with aromas of tropical fruits, acacia honey, orange peel and summer flowers, a lush and structured body that yields notes of freshness and minerality on an intensely long, lingering finish. With over twenty vintages of Broy under their belt, the Collavini family have fine-tuned their flagship wine, while also grappling with other winemaking challenges. Luigi detailed their path in producing Broy, and so well illustrated its aging potential, with the older vintages deepening in color yet reflecting the vintage year conditions. We tasted through the 2011, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022 vintages, as Luigi’s narrative interwove the story of the wine with that of the winery and its terroir. Luigi explained how Friuli’s terroir, between the Alps and the Adriatic Sea, gives the wines its freshness, minerality, complexity and longevity, retaining the local traditions and varieties while appealing to modern sensibilities.

(L-R) Manlio Collavini, with sons Giovanni and Luigi, walking the vineyards, Courtesy of Collavini

Collio vineyards, Courtesy of Collavini

Almost thirty years ago, Collavini produced the first incarnation of this Friulano, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc blend, initially labeled as “Collio Bianco”. Already recognized as a producer of quality wines, the family’s goal was to make a “wine with balls”, to quote Luigi, one that can compete with the best in Europe and most importantly, in Friuli. They received permission from the Italian DOC, and so the stage was set. Broy is named for the “broili”, small gardens planted next to Friulian family houses which provided vegetables and wine for family consumption, and is a nod to the Collavini’s agricultural roots. In 2003, the very first “Broy” was made, what the Collavinis envisioned as a “wine with power”. But then in 2008, a different philosophy took root, to make a wine that was a “postcard from Friuli”, a more pure expression with less structure, minimizing the winemaking techniques and emphasizing the terroir and vineyards. This phase lasted for a decade, until 2018, when the Collavini family changed their view, to make a more elegant wine through reintroducing the use of wood, a Burgundian style of barrel fermentation and aging. The goal was to produce a wine that didn’t taste like it had been in barrel, yet the wood acted as a conduit, expressing the interplay of varietals in the blend, developing a rich sensory profile.

Collavini winemaking facility, Courtesy of Collavini

(L-R) Luigi, Giovanni, and Manlio Collavini, Courtesy of Collavin

Part of the winemaking process with Broy, from the beginning, involved several steps. As Luigi related, “Friulano and Chardonnay are like a black and white picture, the Sauvignon gives a third dimension to the color.” Made in the traditional way, the Friulano and Chardonnay grapes were concentrated by slightly drying the clusters, while the Sauvignon was pressed separately but chilled to prevent fermentation. When the Friulano and Chardonnay grapes were ready, they were blended with the Sauvignon and fermented, part in steel and part in barrique, and then matured on the lees for over a year before being bottled and aged. But this technique of slightly drying the grapes stopped in 2018, as climate change made this step unnecessary.

The first wine we tasted, the 2022 vintage, was challenging, there was little rain and higher temperatures, forcing an early harvest in mid-August. Irrigation was allowed, which never happens, but it was deemed an emergency. Accompanied by a hot wind, the first time the Collavinis had experienced this in their vineyards, “the grapes on top of the hill were burned, dried like sultanas”. The wine expressed this, a more cooked fruit essence yet balanced with a tart acidity. Luigi is concerned that Friuli is in the middle of a “great climate shift”, and in the future, they may need to find new vineyards that are cooler to keep what makes Broy special; elegance, balance, and lower alcohol, which is not easy to do with a smaller, riper crop.

The 2021 Broy is a more complex wine, with its round palate and balanced acidity, reflecting a historically more typically cooler Friulian climate. Vibrant aromas of flowers and yellow fruit, along with a more pronounced salinity, due to the Ponca soils of the vineyards, filled the glass. This was a critically appreciated vintage.

2018 was the first year of a huge climate impact, a cold spring jumped right into a hot summer, which lasted into the autumn. The Collavinis shifted gears, changing their vineyard management, managing the vine canopy to protect the grapes, and hand harvesting at 5am to avoid the heat. They also changed their cellar, using smaller presses and introducing barrels to the mix. The 2018 vintage was a turning point for the new Broy, the “touch of wood” added complexity and intrigue, “it’s there but you don’t taste it.” The wine was intense, with a deeper color, and notes of apricot and Asian pear, a more savory expression.

The 2017 vintage is Luigi’s favorite, with less acidity and a more oily texture. They lost 20% of their crop due to frost, the summer was very hot but there was enough rain to not stress the vines, resulting in a late harvest. The grapes were dried, resulting in a more textured wine, rich notes of apple, caramel and honey layered with spice and dried fruit made for a very complex wine.

The 2013 Broy is more oxidative on the nose, but still very clean in the mouth, and very well balanced. It reflects its age the most, as the growing season experienced average temperatures, with a normal harvest, it’s a classic case of how well Broy can age, with its floral notes still present, and its dried fruit and nutty notes.

The oldest vintage, the 2011 Broy, had above average seasonal temperatures but was offset by a cool summer. Luigi was surprised at the tropical fruit notes still present, and impressed with its freshness after fourteen years, it had a pronounced saline quality to it. Its oxidative quality was offset by the acidity, the richer peach and apricot notes lent a long, lingering finish.

In this vertical tasting, the Collavini family have demonstrated their skill producing an elegant, structured, and aromatically rich wine, no matter the vintage. Recognized by Gambero Rosso’s Tre Bicchieri and other wine critics, Broy is an excellent dinner companion. Fish, truffle risotto, and mature cheeses would really make a perfect food and wine pairing. Everyone I have shared these wines with were so impressed, the quality, elegance, aromas and flavors are intoxicating!
​

To learn more about Collavini Wines, see my previous article,
Collavini Wines, Where Terroir and Native Grape Varieties Reign Supreme, https://www.winealongthe101.com/collavini-wines-where-terroir-and-native-grape-varieties-reign-supreme.html

​Thanks to Studio Cru PR of Italy for facilitating this fascinating vertical tasting!

Collavini Wines, https://collavini.it/en/
​