I tasted last week (2/12/15) w/ my BBB group some Interesting/Mostly Friuli Italian Wines:
1. Marchesi Pancrazi SanDonato IGT: Toscano Rosso (50% PinotNoir/Gamay) Fattoria di Bagnolo/Montemurlo/Toscano
2012: Med.light color; rather earthy/loamy some grapey/Gamay/pleasant/Beauj-like nose; rather tart/metallic/
hard rather earthy/loamy/coarse slight Gamay/grapey flavor w/ light/hard/bitey tannins; med.long rather
hard/austere slight grapey/Gamay rather earthy/loamy finish w/ light/astringent/hard tannins; much like
an over-extracted PasseToutsGrains w/ no fruit & lots of earthy/loamy character; no signs of Tuscan
terroir whatsoever; not attractive at any price. $20.00 (UdW)
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2. Pezzalunga Rosso DOC: OltrepoPavese (14.0%; 35% Barbera, 35% Bonarda (Croatina), 15% Uva Rara,
10% Pinot Nero, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon; www.MadRose.com) Az.Agr.Vercesi del Castellazzo/MontuBeccaria
2010: Med.dark color; bit unclean/bretty/ozone/metallic/pungent some Barbera/Italian sausage bit smokey/
pungent/forest fire rather coarse nose; quite tart/tangy/metallic some Barbera/Italian sausage earthy/bretty
rather rustic/coarse flavor w/ some hard tannins; med. hard/tannic/tart/metallic/tangy rather earthy/coarse
some Barbera/Italian sausage/fennel/spicy finish w/ rough/hard tannins; speaks mostly of Barbera but rather
earthy/coarse/rustic and a bit unclean; disappointing for an OltropoPavese. $25.00 (PMW)
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3. LaTunella Refosco dal PeduncolaRosso DOC: FriuliColliOrientali (13.5%; L11210B; www.LaTunella.It)
Premariacco 2010: Dark color; strong plummy/blackberry/Refosc/black cherry some earthy/licorice/pungent
rather perfumed/aromatic very attractive nose; slightly tart earthy/licorice/pungent rather plummy/black
cherry/blackberry/Refosc fairly rich/lush flavor w/ slight tannic bite; very long earthy/dusty strong
black cherry/blackberry/black cherry cola/Refosc finish w/ some rough/hard tannins; needs some more age;
a pretty classic example of Refosco at a very good price. $22.00 (Enoteca)
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4. VillaLocatelli Refosco dal PeduncolaRosso DOC: Isonzo del Friuli (12.5%; www.Angoris.com) Tenuta di Angoris/
Cormons 2010: Med.dark color; some toasty/Fr.oak/smokey strong plummy/black cherry cola/Refosc/boysenberry
nose; soft strong Fr.oak/toasty/vanilla strong black cherry/blackberry/Refosc/plummy fairly smooth flavor w/
light/smooth tannins; med.long smooth strong toasty/Fr.oak strong black cherry/black cherry cola/Refosc
bit dusty finish w/ light/gentle tannins; a bit too much new Fr.oak and a bit too international in style
and beats down a bit the Refosco fruit. $20.00 (Enoteca)
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5. Ronci di Pietro Refosco dal PeduncolaRosso DOC: FriuliColliOrientali (13%; L12) Francesco & Fulvio Zorzettig/
Spessa di Cividale/Friuli 2011: Very dark color; very strong black cherry/blackberry/plummy/Refosc bit earthy/
dusty slight underripe/herbal/rosemary/thyme some perfumed/spicy nose; bit tart/austere strong black cherry/
plummy/blackberry/Refosc some dusty/earthy bit herbal/thyme/underripe flavor w/ modest/hard tannins; very long
licorice/plummy/black cherry/black cherry cola/Refosc bit dusty/pungent slight herbal/underripe finish w/
modest/rough tannins; a pretty classic Refosco but a bit on the hard/austere side; quite an interesting wine
at a very good price. $19.00 (LM)
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6. PierpaoloPecorari Refosco IGP: VeneziaGiulia (12.5%; MatchVino.Manchester NH) SanLorenzo Isontino/Friuli
2011: Med.dark color; strong plummy/black cherry/blackberry/Refosc bit licorice/tarry/pungent some dusty/earthy
very perfumed lovely nose; bit soft very strong black cherry/blackberry/black cherry cola/Refosc almost
Syrah-like slight dusty/graphite flavor w/ light/hard tannins; very long black cherry/blackberry/licorice/
Refosc bit tarry/pungent/dusty/earthy finish w/ modest/firm tannins; a classic Refosco but a bit smoother
than #5; a lovely example of Refosco at a great price. $18.00 (DiVino)
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7. VillaRubini Schioppettino DOC: FriuliColliOrientali (13%; www.VillaRubini.It; www.ScopertaImports.com) Cividale
2010: Dark color, very slight TCA/cardboardy/musty very intense cracked black pepper/Schio slight earthy/Zin-like
nose; tart very strong cracked black pepper/pungent some blackberry/boysenberry/cold-climate Zin flavor w/
modest tannins; very long bit musty/TCA strong cracked black pepper slight boysenberry finish w/ modest tannins;
still a very interesting Schio but hard to tell how much it was compromised by the TCA. $19.00 (DiV)
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8. Petrussa Schioppettino di Prepotto DOC: ColliOrientali del Friuli (13%; www.Petrussa.It) Prepotto 2010: Med.
dark color; strong blackberry/boysenberry/Zin-like some cracked black pepper quite perfumed Zin-like complex
nose; some hard/tannic some blackberry/boysenberry/cold-climate Zin light cracked black pepper bit severe/
austere flavor w/ some hard tannins; very long Zin/blackberry/boysenberry some cracked black pepper slight
earthy/dusty rather austere/severe complex flavor w/ ample/hard tannins; probably needs more age; one of
the best Friuli Schioppettinos I've tried. $41.00 (DiV)
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And stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Refosco: The main red grape in Friuli is Refosco dal PeduncolaRosso (Refosco w/ the red pedicle). Alas,
the Italians are pretty casual/unprecise in naming their grapes and there are a lot of Refoschi in the
area. On the Istrian peninsula, there is Refosco d'Istria, also known as Terran. The Refosk in Slovenia
is mostly this Refosco. The Croatian gummint as recently brought a complaint w/ the ECC over the Slovenians
use of Terran on their labels. So provincial...just like the Hungarians and the use TokaiFriulano in Friuli.
Refosco is a grape I particularly like. It has a strong black cherry/black cherry cola character with an
underlying dusty/earthy character. There should be more planted in Calif. SteveMatthiasson is a big
proponent of the variety.
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2. Bonarda: In the Oltrepo, they grow a Bonarda d'OltropoPavese. This has no relation to other Italian Bonardas
nor the Bonarda in Argentina. It is, in fact, the Croatina of the AltoPiemonte.
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3. Schioppettino: A grape that was indigeneous to the Slovene border area. The name means "gunshot" or
"little crack" because of the popping sound it makes in your mouth when you bite down on a berry. After
phylloxera, the grape became pretty much extinct in the area. The Rapuzzi family was instrumental in uncovering
some vines and bringing it back from extinction, producing their first Schioppettino under Paolo's
Ronchi di Cialla label in 1975.
I think Schioppettino is a terrific variety. It has a very peppery character much like cold-climate Zin,
particularly the LafondVnyd SRH Zin (alas...no longer planted there), but w/ more high-toned character.
JohnHoldredge makes the only (to my knowledge) Calif Schioppettino from a tiny RRV vnyd. It is actually
quite good. I have, of course, followed it from the very start. It's a variety that should be propagated
all up & down the coast of Calif.
Tom