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Gravner, Rosso

Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy 2010 (750mL)
Regular price$175.00
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Gravner, Rosso

If you can imagine First Growth Left Bank Bordeaux colliding with the finest Pomerol you’re starting to enter the realm of Gravner’s 10-years-aged, astoundingly limited Rosso. Truly, this is among the top rare wines of the world, but in the pantheon of Italian reds, Josko Gravner may inspire more fascination and awe than anyone else. While I can hardly argue with the myriad wine authorities who’ve called Gravner “iconic” or “legendary” and even “The King of Italian Wine,” it still somehow doesn’t seem like enough when I put my nose in today’s Herculean old-vine Merlot. 


The backstory and history of Gravner is riveting to be sure, but one cannot ignore the sheer scarcity of his wines: As you know, we’ve managed to get ahold of his Ribolla a number of times but seeing, let alone drinking, a Gravner red is a once-per decade experience for many. Upon launching SommSelect, I naturally assumed these would remain impossibly out of reach, so it is with great honor that we can showcase today’s Bordeaux-toppling 2010 “Rosso.” Coming from Merlot vines and a splash of Cabernet planted in the 1960s, this powerful red (1) naturally fermented in buried amphorae, (2) aged four years in old barrels, and (3) rested in bottle for six more prior to release. Only 140 cases are produced in the years this wine is actually made—honestly, I can hardly believe I’m looking at it right now. Don’t expect to see it again anytime soon!


Before we talk about the wine, I think it’s worth delving into its extraordinary backstory. It all starts three centuries ago, when the Gravner family settled and began farming the same small hillside in Oslavia, on Italy’s border with Slovenia. The Gravner family persevered through multiple empires and World Wars, and in the 1980s and ‘90s, Josko Gravner was becoming an increasingly important figure in modern Italian wine. With all the state-of-the-art winemaking equipment, vineyards full of Chardonnay and Merlot, and cellars full of new oak barrels, Josko had engineered an impressive and consistent system for bottling rich, powerful, young-release wines that commanded high magazine scores and sold-out-upon-release demand. 


Still, one night after a long day of wine tasting and vineyard tours during a research expedition in Napa Valley, Josko was struck by an epiphany—he was making “modern” wine that sold well, but expressed little about the nature, history, and soul of his land. So, upon return, he completely changed course, uprooting most of his “international” varieties (but not all, as evidenced by today’s wine!) and replanting to his hometown’s native grapes, Pignolo and Ribolla Gialla. Josko also sold off his stainless steel fermenters and his wooden barriques in favor of large, terra cotta amphorae acquired from a friend in Georgia (as in the Caucasus, where winemaking culture is widely believed to have originated). He modeled his operation in Friuli after the ultra-traditional wineries he saw during a pilgrimage to Georgia, burying the amphorae in the earth and fermenting the wines in the most primitive way possible—all grape clusters intact; only native, airborne yeasts for fermentation; no temperature control; no fining or filtration; only the slightest hint of sulfur at bottling. In short, Gravner makes wine in much the same way as it was made thousands of years ago.


In building a bridge between modern and ancient wine, Josko has inspired an entire generation of winemakers to explore ancient vinification methods, and today, one can see his thumbprint in almost every wine region in the world. Perhaps most importantly for those of us who consume the finished product, Josko insists on holding back the release of his wines until they’ve entered their prime drinking window: Today’s 2010 Rosso spent a month fermenting on its skins in underground Georgian amphorae (kvevri), after which it spent four years aging in barrel and six more in bottle before release. If you can believe it, this is the youngest red ever released from Josko’s cellar!


Despite 10 years of evolution, Gravner’s 2010 Rosso demands a lengthy decant: I recommend starting with at least two hours, then tracking the wine slowly throughout an entire evening and into the second day. This is a masterpiece and the Merlot shines through with extreme pedigree and power, not unlike the style of a top-vintage, luxurious, high-dollar Left or Right Bank Bordeaux producer. In a large Bordeaux stem around 65 degrees, it spills out heady aromas of red and black currant, dried plums, dried blueberry, black cherry, black raspberry liqueur, crushed black rock, dried herbs, smoke, whole clove, nutmeg, and iron. On the palate, the wine roars out with dark-toned berry fruit and a dense, muscled core of minerals and savory earth. This is far from being fully developed, and although it’s a mind-bending red with ample air, I expect the real fireworks will begin in another 2-5 years. Gravner’s Rosso is a rarefied treasure of the wine world—savor every ounce. Cheers!

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