2009 Gravner “Rujno” Rosso
The 2009 Rujno is a ghost in a bottle. As the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon vines used for this cuvée
Producer
Gravner
I have reviewed three wines from Gravner, from the 2009 to 2016 vintages, all from Venezia Giulia. Scores range from 96 to 99, averaging 98; the highest is the 2009 Gravner “Rujno” Rosso (99 points).
Josko Gravner is a visionary who changed the course of modern winemaking and is the godfather of the amber-wine movement. After years of producing successful technical wines, he grew disillusioned, abandoned modern technology and returned to the roots of winemaking, adopting the ancient Georgian method of fermenting in buried terracotta amphorae, or qvevri. His estate is in Oslavia, on the Slovenian border.
Ribolla Gialla is at the centre of his work. It ferments on its skins in the qvevri for months, then spends six years in large oak casks, emerging amber, tannic and profoundly complex — dried chamomile, honeycomb, incense, beeswax and apricot, with a meaty texture and a saline mineral core. It remains the benchmark against which other skin-contact wines are measured.
Gravner’s reds are just as uncompromising. Breg is 100% Pignolo, a difficult native grape sculpted by long rest into something savory, feral and vibrant. Rujno, from Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon vines that have since been uprooted, is a wine from a vineyard that no longer exists, velvety, dark and deeply moving.
2010 Gravner “Breg” Pignolo
In a cooler, more “introverted” vintage like 2010, the Pignolo grape reveals its true, noble character. Often a beast to
2016 Gravner Ribolla Gialla
Josko Gravner is the undisputed godfather of the modern amber wine movement, the visionary who famously abandoned modern technology to