We tried this week (9/21/11) some Friulian Reds:
1. Holdredge Schiopettino MacBrydeVnyd/RRV (13.4%; www.Holdredge.com; 32 cs; Last Hrvst) 2007: Med.color; quite
spicy/peppery lovely fragrant/cherry/black cherry very perfumed light Burgundian/toasty/oak almost Pinot/Zin-like
nose; tart light bodied bit tangy rather spicy/cherry/black cherry/peppery light tannic light toasty/oak flavor;
med.long tart/tangy strong cherry/black cherry somewhat peppery/spicy finish w/ light tannins; a really lovely
nose and a great cherry/spicy character; lovely very interesting wine. $50.00
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2. Holdredge Schiopettino MacBrydeVnyd/RRV (12.9%) 2005: Very dark color; slight reduced/pungent some cherry/black
cherry/perfumed quite peppery somewhat smokey/toasty/charred/oak complex nose; softer rather pungent/smokey/charred/
oak some black cherry/cherry light peppery fairly smooth flavor w/ light tannins; med.long some pungent/charred/
smokey/oak some black cherry/cherry/peppery very slight brett fairly smooth finish w/ light tannins; more like
a Calif Pinot than anything; quite attractive wine. $40.00
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3. Jacuss Fuc e Flamis Schioppettino DOC: ColliOrientali del Friuli (13%; RibollaNera) 2005: Med.light color; somewhat
earthy/dusty/pungent strong black cherry/spicy/boysenberry slight wet wool/funky rather interesting nose; soft/lush
rather earthy/dusty/pungent some black cherry/boysenberry/fruity/Schiopettino light tannic lush/round/forward flavor;
med.long light tannic soft/lush boysenberry/black cherry finish w/ light tannins; rather attractive soft/lush red
w/ good Schiopettino flavor; bit pricey at $35.00 (WE)
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4. LaVigne di Zamo DOC: ColliOrientali del Friuli Schioppettino (13.5%) 2005: Dark color; some toasty/oak/pencilly quite
peppery/black cherry/cherry/root beer/RCCola complex slight earthy nose; soft/rich/lush strong black cherry/RCCola/
some peppery/spicy rather toasty/pencilly/oak/pungent flavor w/ light tannins; rather long lush/rich/ripe fruit strong
black cherry/RCCola/peppery/boysenberry finish w/ light tannins; quite drinkable and very interesting; bit pricey
at $35.00 (Eataly)
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5. Santomas big red 100% Refosk V.O. SlovenskaIstra (13%) 2007: Very dark color; strong root beer/blackberry some funky/
wet dog fur/wet wool lighht toasty/oak interesting nose; rather tannic/rough/earthy/dusty bit funky/wet wool strong
boysenberry/blackberry some tannic flavor; med.long root beer/blackberry earthy/wet wool/dusty light toasty/oak finish
w/ some tannins; interesting wine if a bit coarse/rustic; fairly priced at $17.00 (K&L)
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6. Ermacora DOC: ColliOrientali del Friuli Refosco dal PeduncolaRosso (13.5%) Ipplis 2008: Very dark color; rather herbal/
peppery/root beer/boysenberry/spicy big fruit light toasty/oak nose; tart rather rough/tannic/rustic herbal/root beer/
boysenberry earthy/dusty flavor; med.long root beer/blackberry/herbal some earthy/dusty light toasty/oak rather rough/
tannic/rustic finish; interesting rough/rustic wine at a good price. $13.00 (K&L)
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7. Doriga Refosco DOC: ColliOrientali del Friuli (13.5%) 2008: Dark color; very strong iodine/root beer/boysenberry/
big fruit slight earthy/dusty rather grapey nose; rather hard/tannic grapey/root beer/boysenberry bit tart/hard
fairly coarse/rustic flavor; med.long grapey/root beer/boysenberry some earthy/dusty/mineral/pungent fairly hard/
tannic; another rough/rustic Refosco but good for the price. $17.30 (Gom)
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8. LaTunella Refosco dal PeduncoloRosso DOC: ColliOrientali del Friuli (13%; www.LaTunella.It) 2005: Dark color; rather
metallic/Geranium/ozone/funky/pungent strong boysenberry/root beer/spicy light oaked nose; softer rough/rustic some
hard/tannic strange metallic/ozone/gun flint grapey/boysenberry/root beer light oak flavor; med.short metallic/
ozone/pungent/gun flint slight tangy boysenberry/root beer finish; some weird stuff therein but interesting.
$20.00 (K&L)
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9. Jacuss Tazzelenghe DOC: ColliOrientali dal Friuli (13%) Iacuzzi Sandra & Andrea/Montina di Torreano 2003: Dark color;
strong earthy/herbal boysenberry/blackberry/RCCola slight spicy/peppery complex nose; very hard/tannic quite tart
rather earthy/dusty some boysenberry/herbal/geraniums/RCCola rough/rustic flavor; long earthy/dusty/herbal/geraniums
strong boysenberry/RCCola/spicy bit peppery tart/rough/hard/tannic finish; needs some age; noot nearly as
tongue-rippin' as some. $30.00 (WE)
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10. Dorigo Tazzelenghe di Buttrio DOC: ColliOrientali del Friuli (13.5%; www.Montsclapade.com) 2001: Dark color; very
fragrant blackberry/black cherry/boysenberry/grapey/spicy/peppery some toasty/charred/oak complex/interesting nose;
fairly soft/lush rather hard/tannic ripe boysenberry/grapey/black cherry cola rather toasty/charred/oak light earthy
flavor; fairly long ripe/grapey/boysenberry/black cherry cola softer rather hard/tannic some charred/oak finish;
needs some age; more polished and NewWorld than the Jacuss; quite an interesting wine. $36.00 (BWM)
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Schioppettino, Refosco, and Tazzalenghe are all indigeneous Friulian red varieties. Schioppettino (sometimes
spelled with one "p"), which translates as "little crack" or "gunshot" (wonder where the heck that name came
from) is also known as RibollaNera. There was less than half an acre of the variety planted at MacBryde, which
is near the intersection of CoveyRd & TrentonRd, just off RiverRd. Alas, the vnyd succumbed to Pierce's disease
and the variety was not replanted. Bummer. There are apparently a few experiemental vines of Schioppettino
planted elsewhere in Calif, but no producing vnyds to my knowledge. The variety is available from FPS/Davis.
Somebody oughta jump on the bandwagon. It'll be the next Merlot craze.
There are a whole family (clones?) of Refoschi, with the Refosco dal PeduncolaRosso (Refosco w/ the red stalk)
the most widely planted and apparently the most highly regarded. It also goes under the name, mostly in Slovenia,
of Terran or Terrano. One of its parents is Marzemino. It was once thought to be identical or closely related to
MondeuseNoir, but DNA has refuted that. There were a number of plantings of Refosco/Mondeuse in Calif, particularly
at Antinori's AtlasPeakVnyd, but these have all been found to be MondeuseNoir (not a bad thing, of course). The only
known planting of true Refosco is Steve&Jill Matthiasson's vnyd on the NW outskirts of Napa. Their first Refosco
(not yet released) is actually quite good. There are also plantings on LongIsland (ChanningDaughters) and NewMexico
(Paola d'Andrea/Deming), but the authenticity of those plantings is suspect. The variety is available from FPS/Davis.
Somebody oughta jump on the bandwagon. It'll be the next Merlot craze.
Tazzalenghe ("tongue ripper") is another interesting variety. So called because of its high acidity and tannin
levels. There are no known plantings in the USofA. It is not available from FPS/Davis. Somebody oughta jump on the
bandwagon and bring some in. It'll be the next Merlot craze.
Of these three varieties we tried, I was most impressed by the Schiopettinos. They had a lovely black cherry
character to them, quite spicy/peppery, and more high-toned & Calif in character than the other two. The Refoschi
all showed that rough/slightly coarse character I get from Refosco, not quite as interesting. The two Tazzalenghe
we had were not nearly as tongue-ripping as the other 7-8 Tazzalenghes I've tried. More like Tazzalenghe-Lite
perhaps. Also very interesting wines as well. All of these should be being grown in Calif. Drive the friggin'
Merlot market into oblivion.
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2. Holdredge: I was mightly impressed with John's '07 version. He seems to have pulled back on the oak and really let
the Schiopettino shine thru. All you could ask for in a good drinking red.
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3. Bulfon: I would have loved to include some of Emilio Bulfon's wines (www.bulfon.it/) in this tasting, but not been
up to Boulder of late to pick up any. He's a guy that specializes in Friulian indigenous varieties. His WebSite
is very interesting if you can get by the cheesy/soporofic music.
Tom