Not where I thought I would begin
When I considered writing this blog, I wondered what wine to start the reviews with - should I go with a big label first growth Bordeaux, a monster Australian premium Shiraz or a very bargain priced but high quality wine. At no point did I think the first cab off the rank would be an Italian wine from Udine. I opened this bottle the other night, and was immediately stuck by the refinement. It's truly delicious, which is always my first criteria when considering wine.
Firstly, let's unpack that label - they can be daunting with information overload at an initial glance.
Ronco del Gnemiz - The producer. Only around 10 hectares (25 acres) of very rich sandstone soil, the vineyard sits on the hill of Rosazzo. You can find them off the via Ronchi, around 20km south east of Udine. The winemaker is Serena Palazzolo, who has been running the operation since the 1990s, taking over from her father who purchased the winery in the 1960s.
Friuli Colli Orientali - The Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) that this wine is from, within the broader region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Only around 35% of the region's vineyards are planted with red wine grapes.
(I'll cover the differences between DOC, DOCG, IGT and VdT in another post, which will also attempt to demystify the truly head scratching other European labeling rules)
Schioppettino - Italian for "little crack" (as in gunshot, not a plumber bending down) this variety is generally only grown in the Italian regions near the Slovenian border, and in some Australian vineyards in Victoria. I understand it's also grown in the Russian River valley region of California, but I haven't ever tried any examples from there. To my taste, the wine itself sits, body-wise, between a merlot and a grenache. Like a slightly rounder grenache, or a slightly less plummy merlot.
imbottigliato all'origine dall'azienda - literally "bottled at the origin by the company", this simply means it was bottled on the estate where it was produced. I beleive this is equivalent to the French Mis en bouteille.
Now that we have unpacked the detail on that label, what did I think of the contents? A label is all well and good, but the contents of the bottle are somewhat more important.
Key Flavour Notes - Lots of soft acid and not a large amount of tannin. Beautiful fruit and spice on the nose. Violet and pepper notes, with a touch of raspberry. Some vanilla from oak, but certainly not overpowering. Layered and very refined. Old world style, with the fruit slightly muted behind that complex secondary notes.
My Rating - 4.0 out of 5. A bit bolder, a bit more complex or a bit more power would see this rise. I tried a 2018 vintage a few years ago too, which felt a bit flatter, so I am definitely very happy with this bottle!
Price/Source - I got this from an importer for around $49 AUD a bottle. Shout out to Jeremy and Heidi at D'or to Door wines. Link below:
(Many thanks to Astrum Wine Cellars for some of the producer details - more can be found on their page at https://www.astrumwinecellars.com/producers/details/ronco-del-gnemiz)
