Venica & Venica - Bottaz Refosco 2012

Venica & Venica - Bottaz Refosco 2012 (88 TSW)

Mabye you know I am a big fan of the white wines from Venica & Venica. During my holiday to Italy I also tasted one of their reds. The Perilla – 100% Merlot and that one blew me away! So I had to investigate their other red selection. Refosco is one of the ancient grapes of Friuli, its original name was Racimulus fuscus. Renowned in ancient times, it celebrated Pope Gregory XII in 1409 in Cividale and the caste of nobles during the military games of 1762. During the first Wine Congress of 1891 it was divided into 3 categories: from the red peduncle, from the green peduncle and Terrano d'Istria .

Both Peduncolo Rosso and Faedis are planted in the Bottaz vineyard and are providing greater complexity to the wine. The bunch of Refosco, being very long, tends to exert too much weight causing the drying of the spine. It is therefore necessary to cut all the bunches in half.

The Refosco grape is very tannic and the cold climate of the vineyards requires very gentle maceration to avoid green extraction and obtain more elegance, about 20 days from when it starts spontaneous fermentation. The aging takes place in used French barrels and provides the right evolution while keeping the varietal expression unchanged. The wine is bottled without filtration.

My tasting notes:

In the glass a impenetrable dark ruby red color.
On the medium+ nose aromas of blackberry and red currants with hints of green pepper, chocolate, coffee and balsamico hints.
On the palate medium+ bodied, soft tannins and medium acidity. Fresh and round in the mouth with a long pleasant aftertaste. Very nice made.

We paired it with tagliatella and creamy chicken/courgette rolls in tomato sauce. Also great with fatty meats and stews in general.