Gravner Ribolla Gialla Friuli-Venezia Giulia 2016

To call this wine merely “geeky” undersells it entirely. It is a profound, powerful, and vividly energetic expression from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, one of the regions at the forefront of the modern skin-contact wine revival. Thoughtfully crafted and aged for many years before release, it is both rare and uncompromising, going for $175 retail normally, but now UNDER $115 – a considerable steal for something so remarkably unique and rare.

Josko Gravner carries on a family winemaking tradition that has endured for generations in the border region of Hum and Oslavia, in the hills above Gorizia, with views of both the Julian Alps and the Adriatic Sea. Farming 18 hectares of vineyards devoted chiefly to Ribolla Gialla and Pignolo, Josko is in serious pursuit of deeply distinctive wines. Once known for polished, modern Friulian styles, he dramatically changed course in the 1990s after losing connection with his own work, later drawing inspiration from ancient Georgian methods and helping revive traditional amphora-based winemaking. The resulting bottles are structured, age-worthy, and intellectually stirring – and remain among the most singular expressions of northeastern Italy.

His 2016 Ribolla Gialla Friuli-Venezia Giulia is made from biodynamically farmed Ribolla Gialla grown on the steep marl and sandstone slopes of Oslavia, in the Collio zone of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Fruit is harvested by hand and moved by gravity into buried Georgian amphorae, where it ferments and macerates on the skins for several months. The wine is then aged for six years in large, neutral Slavonian oak casks before bottling, with only minimal sulfur added and no fining or filtration.

The 2016 vintage benefited from a warm, sunny growing season, with gentle late-summer rains encouraging a touch of botrytis that Josko values for the added aromatic and textural depth it can bring. The finished wine is layered and powerful yet balanced and sensually textured, showing notes of yellow peach, lemon, Sumo citrus, white pepper, mint, rosemary, and white truffle, alongside salty minerality. Endlessly energetic and structured, it combines bright acidity with a broad, dense palate and a long finish. Those looking for an adventurous and outside-the-norm, yet traditionally rooted and mega-complex bottle, look no further! This is ripe for the taking and certain to blow your mind.

PAIRING IDEAS: Make this stunning and rich halibut piccata for the perfect, fresh bite with nice, briny saltiness and a kick of citrus to pull out the vast array of flavors in this magnetic skin-contact wine.