Il Roncal, wine from Friuli, part 3

This is the third part about the wine from producer Il Roncal in Friuli, Italy. This time I look into a sauvignon wine and two red wines made from indigenous wines.

The Sauvignon wines that is produced in some parts of Italy such as Friuli and Trentino-Alto Adige is quite different from other Sauvignon wines that I have tasted. In Chile for example I get a lot of gooseberry and they are not very balanced. While the Sauvigno wines from Friuli for example I find much more balanced. The Il Roncal Sauvignon is from 2017 and has an ABV of 12,5%. The grapes are pressed and fermented normally and then transferred into a steel tank for three months of refinement. I get a crisp and fresh aromatic nose, one can say that it is a Sauvignon just from the nose. The taste is very fresh and crisp with notes of gooseberry, tropical fruit, some grass and melon. A very good and balanced sauvignon.

The next wine is the red wine Pignolo from 2011 and the ABV is 14%. Pignolo is an autochthonous grape variety in Friuli. The name Pignolo comes from the Friulian dialect pignul. The grapes undergo a maceration period of 15 days. Then the wine is transferred into small French oak barriques  for 48 months. Finally it is transferred into steel tanks for 5 months and then bottled and stored for six months before it can be sold. That is quite a long period of at least five years. So how is the taste? I get dark fruits especially black currants with well integrated oak and tannins after nine years. Quite complex and very good.

The last wine is yet another autochthonous grape from Friuli. It is the grape Schioppettino and the vintage of this bottle is 2015. The maceration period is 15 years. Then the wine is stored in second cycle barriques for 24 months. Then it is bottled and lies on the bottle for 3 months before being sold. On the nose I get a lot of black fruits such as blueberry. In the taste there is also a lot of black fruits such as blueberry, blackberry and plum. After some time also some black currant appears. It is not a heavy wine but a medium balanced wine. A very good wine also.

Il Roncal has several more wines than the ones I have tasted in this three part series but these wines will probably wait until I have a chance to visit the producer in Friuli.

Finally s video of Martina Moreala talking about some of the wines of Il Roncal can be seen below, it is in Italian.

Colosi 2009, Malvasia delle Lipari, Passito di Salina

The producer Colosi is situated on the island of Salina, which is one of the Eolian islands north of Sicily. Colosi makes a passito wine from Malvasia grapes and I have earlier tried the 2007 vintage. Passito is a way of making sweet wines which involves drying the grapes for a period of time before pressing the grapes. That leaves a very sweet must which is used in fermentation and creation of the wine.

So how is the 2009 vintage? On the nose I get dried figs and a hint of apricot. In the taste I have hazelnuts, dried stone fruits such as apricots. This is a lovely passito wine that can handle ageing very well.

Mayolet, a rare grape from Valle d'Aosta

Mayolet is a native early-maturing grape of Valle d'Aosta, Although it is planted in limited numbers (10 hectars), the Mayolet occupies a rather large cultivation area that extends from Saint-Vincent in Avise, on the right and left slopes of the Dora Baltea, and reaches the significant altitude of 800 meters above sea level. But there are some disadvatages with this grape, that it is hard to work with mainly due to tight concentration of grapes and very thin skin. So not many produers plant this grape and to find a bottle of Mayolet outside of Valle d'Aosta is almost impossible

The bottle of Mayolet that I tasted I bought in Valle d'Aosta in 2018. As can be seen in the photo below the vinyards climb quite rapdidly up the mountains.

The producer of the Mayolet bottle is Cave Des Once Communes. The vintage is 2016 and the ABV is 13% and it is a red wine. It is a light red wine with a taste of of some cherry and a hint of black peppar. Nice aftertaste of red fruit.

Il Roncal, wine from Friuli part 2, sparkling wines

Time for the second part about the wines from producer Il Roncal in Friuli, Italy, close to the border of Slovenia. This time my focus is on their sparkling wines.

The first sparkling wine is the Aurerum Ribolla Gialla Brut. For this sparkling wine the first fermentation is done in stainless steel tanks for 8-10 days. After that the wine ferments in pressure tanks for 180 days until the pressure reaches 6 bar, then it is bottled. The ABV for the bottle I have is 12%. In the taste I get citrus and some apple with brioche. This is a nice dry sparkling wine that goes well with fish for example or just as an aperitivo.

The second sparkling wine is the Argenteum Extra Dry. For this sparkling wine Il Roncal uses 50% Chardonnay and 50% Ribolla Gialla. The first fermentation is done in stainless steel tanks for 8-10 days. After that the wine ferments in pressure tanks for 60 days until the pressure reaches 6 bar, then it is bottled. For this wine I get a lot of brioche, apple and citrus and the mouthfeel is very dry. Yet another good sparkling wine from Il Roncal. May be too dry for some people.

The last sparkling wine is the Roseum Demi Sec which is a sparkling rose wine. The grape used for this wine is 100% Schioppettino, a rare red wine grape from Friiuli. For this wine wine they do the same fermentation and pressurisation as the Ribolla Gialla brut. I get a taste if rasperry, strawberry and some citrus. A very good rose sparkling with a very good structure. It went very well together with salmon and herring.

The region Friuli Venezia-Giulia is not known for their sparkling wine but it is a regions that produces very good sparkling wine. But it is hard to find it outside of Friuli Venezia-Giulia.

Il Roncal, wine from Friuli part 1

Il Roncal is a wineproducer situtated in Cividale del Friuli in the Italian region of Friuli Venezia-Giulia close to the border of Slovenia. This wine producing area is know as Friuli Colli Orientali. Il Roncal own 20 hectars of vineyards on the Montebello hill. The winery name comes from a local Friulian expression meaning “estate on a hill cultivated in terraces” (also known as “ronchi”).Il Roncal was founded in 1986 by Roberto Morealo and is run today by his wife Martina Moreale. They produe several different wines and here I will focus on two white wine and one red wine.

The first wine is a red Merlot wine from 2015. For this wine 20% of the wine has been aged in oak tonneaux for one year before being mixed together with the rest of the wine. The wine then rests for three months on the bottle before being sold. In the taste I get black currant with some earthy notes and tannins in the end. A nice Merlot.

The second wine is a Friulano from 2018. Friulano is a native grape to Friuli Venezia Giulia. For this wine only steel tanks are used for storing and fermentation. In the taste I get honey, lime and tropical fruits in a good light fresh white wine.

The third wine is the the white wine Ribolla Gialla from 2017. Also Ribolla Gialla is a native gape of Friuli Venezia-Giulia and also here steel tanks has been used for fermantation. The taste is of pear, minerals and this wine is fresh and quite harmonius.

Three very good wines from Il Roncal and in the second part I will go into their sparkling wines.

Lvnae Vermentino 2018, Etichetta Grigia

Lvnae Vermentino is one of the few Vermentinos that I can buy in Sweden. But I am quite lucky since Lvnae is a good producer of vermentino. Lvnae is from Liguria in Italy. I have been following their vintages over the years and the quality has been very good. So how is the 2018 vintage? It has a fresh and crisp taste with pear and citrus with a lovely nose of peach and pear. It is an excellent vintage and it is lovely together with seafood.

Pinot Grigio, Collio, from Alessio Komjanc

One year ago I visited Friuli Venezia Giulia and visited the producer Alessio Komjanc near the Slovenian border in the area of San Floriano del Collio. It is a family owned business. The winery Alesssio Komjanc was founded in the seventies by Alessio Komjanc. When visiting this winery the one showing us around were Roberto Komjanc, one of the four sons of Alessio Komjanc. This winery has 24 hectars of vineyards. And they focus on many of the grapes used in Friuli Venezia Giulia. For white wines Komjanc uses regional grapes as Ribolla Gialla – still and sparkling; Friulano, Malvasia Istriana, Picolit and the international grapes Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon and Traminer Aromatico. Komjanc also produces some red wines on grapes such as Schioppettino, Pinot Nero, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Also there is a production of olive oil.

In the last blogpost about Komjanc I wrote about the native grapes and this time I will look at one international grapes, Pinot Grigio. It is a white wine grape that is grown internationally and can make bad to excellent wines but in Friuli Venezia Giuli it makes very good wines  The wine that I have tasted from Komjanc is their Pinot Grio from 2017 which has an ABV of 14%, which is a bit stronger than your usual Pinot Grigio. In the taste I get pear, lime and some honey. A very nice smooth Pinot Grigio whih is very good.

Three red wine from Italy, Villa Poggio Salvi, Borgo Dei Guidi and Enzo bartoli

Villa Poggio Salvi has a wine rosso di Montalcino of the vintage 2015 with an ABV of 14%. The taste is of red cherry and red currants. It is not to heavy and it has a very clear taste. Very good.  Below is the castle in Montalcino in Tuscany.

The next wine is a red wine from Borgo Dei Guidi in Romagna. It is their Sangiovese/Cabernet Sauvignon wine. The vintage is 2016 and the ABV 14,5%. For this wine I get get a lot of violet and black currants on the nose. In the taste I get black currants with tannins and some vanilla and oak. I think that here that the cabernet sauvignon is dominating over the Sangiovese.

The last wine is a Barbera d'Asti from Enzo Bartoli. Here Eno Bartoli is not a producer. Enzo Bartoli is a brand name from a Swedish company that buys up wine from Italy and bottles it under their own brand. This Barbera is from 2016 with an ABV of 14%. On the nose I get red cherry. On the taste I get sour cherry, plum and some oak. It is a nice Barbera.