One for the obscurists? No, not at all, the poor grape nearly driven to extinction by the movement to modern varietals is still with us. The little gunshot, and so it is, exploding across the palate with just ripe brambles and plums. Marvellous. Fear not, brave drinker. Again, 15 days maceration and the whole lot has 6 months in oak. Which doesn’t keep the fruit at bay, just helps us on our way. To the future my friends.

Ab-Fab-a-dab-fab. Sometimes you just get a bit giddy when new wines come in and you’ve so wanted to have them on your list.Friuli is the region of North Eastern Italy that borders on Slovenia and heads on out towards Croatia. It is home to the most scintillating mono-varietal wines in all of Italy. And if we exaggerate, well we exaggerate, if we contradict ourselves, we contradict ourselves, to misquote Walt Whitman. Lovely wines, they are not cheap because serious consideration is given to viticulture, yields and wine making. Which may be true of all our wineries, no, it is true, but there is a simplicity and focus here at Il Roncal. Nice folks too, and they have an agriturissmo if you fancy, but what is good is the blend of International Varieties and local indigenous grapes. Have a stab at them all, they are delicious. Excuse the details on stainless steel and oak and stuff, what it shows is a winery determined to do the right thing by their grapes. Most are harvested late to give them a rounded richness that sings to you. Honestly.