Ronco del Gnemiz

Some wines bear the name of a vineyard. This one bears the name of a family – and that is no coincidence. Serena Palazzolo e Figli: Serena and her sons. That sounds like a calling card, and that's exactly what it is. If you want to get to know Ronco del Gnemiz, if you want to understand how Christian Patat and his family work on the hill of Rosazzo, this is the place to start. Not with a "simple" entry-level wine, but with a promise. The grapes come from different plots on the estate – an assemblage that combines the best of each site. Organically farmed, harvested by hand and pressed as whole bunches. The must then ferments in used barriques and Liters barrels, without malolactic fermentation or bâtonnage. Christian Patat says: "Vinification is just the consequence of our work in the vineyard." A sentence that explains everything.

Some names carry history. Pupillo was originally the label for a Merlot vineyard planted in 2004, which did not fulfil the company's ambitions – too young, too impetuous, not ripe for the demands of Ronco del Gnemiz. Since then, the name has been dormant, reserved for vintages in which the family decided that the wines did not quite reach the standards of the legendary Rosso del Gnemiz. 2023 is one such year.

"San Zuan" is one of the great interpretations of Friulano every year – and in the 2023 vintage it shows a slightly different facet. The single vineyard site above San Giovanni al Natisone, characterised by barren Ponca soils, benefits from a microclimate that combines warmth and alpine freshness. 2023 brought a rather unsettled spring with variable rainfall and later a hot, dry summer that put the vines to the test. However, cool September nights preserved the acidity and lent the grapes precision and flavour. The grapes were harvested in several stages at the end of September, gently pressed and traditionally matured in large, used wooden barrels. The prolonged contact with the lees gave the wine depth and a creamy but never opulent texture.

On the hill of Rosazzo, where Augustinian monks were already making wine in the year 1000, lies a vineyard that understands Sauvignon like few others in Italy. Ronco del Gnemiz treats every parcel like a Grand Cru – not as a marketing slogan, but as a working philosophy. Serena Palazzolo and her husband Christian Patat, an Oenologist with a steady hand and a clear eye, have created something here that has become rare: wines that let their place speak for itself. Salici comes from a vineyard planted in 1997 on the lower slope, where lighter soils give the Sauvignon a different voice than on the heavy Ponca marls further up. The grapes are pressed as whole bunches, then the must ferments exclusively in wood – partly in barriques, partly in Liters barrels. No malolactic fermentation, no bâtonnage. Christian Patat leaves the wine alone for twelve months until it shows what it can do on its own.

Light ruby-coloured, cherry-fruity and with a lot of character of its own. The red variety also known as Ribolla Nera has been interpreted by Ronco del Gnemiz with a great deal of character. It is soft, delicate, juicy, fruity and wonderfully precise and long. It leaves a hint of sour citrus fruit and ends with a light structure and a colour like liquid lavender. Lovers of Schioppettino will fall head over heels in love with this wine. SUPERIORE.DE

"Ronco Basso" is one of the more powerful Chardonnays from Ronco del Gnemiz – and in the 2023 vintage it shows a particularly fine balance between substance and freshness. The lower-lying parcel near San Giovanni al Natisone, whose Ponca soils are rich in marl and sandstone, produces wines with denser fruit and a subtly creamy core. The year 2023 brought a changeable spring with sufficient rainfall and a warm summer that was challenging at times. However, cool nights in September maintained the tension and led to a staggered, selective harvest at the end of the month. The must fermented spontaneously in used barriques and matured on the fine lees to develop density and structure without losing its freshness.

The site near Buttrio, where the grapes of the autochthonous Friulano grape variety originate, is one of the Grand Crus of the Friuli Colli Orientali appellation together with Rosazzo. Not only are there no regulations here, but also a poor, loose marl soil that ensures extremely low yields every year. In good vintages, however, the rewards are all the greater: the volume and fruit concentration, the lower acidity and the unmistakable salinity of the wines will lead to enjoyable heights after a few years of bottle ageing, making lovers of complex, energetic white wines dizzy. SUPERIORE.DE

In the 1970s, seventy vines still existed. Seventy, scattered across eastern Friuli, forgotten in overgrown vineyards. What was once one of the most prized red wines in the region – first mentioned in 1282 – was on the verge of disappearing. Worse still: in 1976, the regional government banned its cultivation. A variety that was not on the official register was not allowed to exist. The rebels won. Paolo Rapuzzi collected the last vines, defied the authorities and an earthquake, and brought the first legal Schioppettino onto the market in 1977. Today, the variety is once again recognised as one of Italy's most important indigenous reds – also thanks to winegrowers like Christian Patat, who have given it a home in Rosazzo. The name? Presumably from the Friulian "scopp" – to crack, to burst. Some say because of the thick, crispy berry skin under the teeth. Others say because young wines continue to ferment in the bottle and the corks pop out. Both explanations fit a wine that has nothing quiet about it. Ronco del Gnemiz cultivates less than one hectare in two parcels: One has been bearing fruit for over sixty years, the other was planted in 2001. Christian Patat vinifies them together, with partial whole-cluster fermentation and ageing in neutral barriques. Nine months, unfiltered.

The site near Buttrio, where the grapes of the autochthonous Friulano grape variety originate, is one of the Grand Crus of the Friuli Colli Orientali appellation together with Rosazzo. Not only are there no regulations here, but there is also a poor, loose marl soil, which ensures extremely low yields every year. In good vintages, however, the rewards are all the greater: the volume and fruit concentration, the lower acidity and the unmistakable salinity of the wines will, after a few years of ageing in the bottle, lead to enjoyable heights that will make lovers of complex, energetic white wines dizzy. SUPERIORE.DE

On the hill of Rosazzo, where Augustinian monks were already making wine in the year 1000, lies a vineyard that understands Sauvignon like few others in Italy. Ronco del Gnemiz treats every parcel like a Grand Cru – not as a marketing slogan, but as a working philosophy. Serena Palazzolo and her husband Christian Patat, an Oenologist with a steady hand and a clear eye, have created something here that has become rare: wines that let their place speak for itself. Salici comes from a vineyard planted in 1997 on the lower slope, where lighter soils give the Sauvignon a different voice than on the heavy Ponca marls further up. The grapes are pressed as whole bunches, then the must ferments exclusively in wood – partly in barriques, partly in Liters barrels. No malolactic fermentation, no bâtonnage. Christian Patat leaves the wine alone for twelve months until it shows what it can do on its own.

Sometimes the oldest things are hidden. While the Chardonnay Sol, the founding wine from 1981, tells the story of Ronco del Gnemiz, the Corrado di Manzano has even deeper roots: its vines were planted between the two world wars, at a time when no one could have guessed that one of the most important Chardonnay vineyards in the Colli Orientali would one day be created here. The name honours a family member, as is the tradition at Ronco del Gnemiz: Dottore Palazzolo, Iris, now Corrado. The location in Manzano, exposed to the south-east, differs from the headquarters in Rosazzo. The soils are rich in organic matter and, despite their biblical age, the vines show enviable vigour year after year – year after year. Christian Patat takes a different approach here than with Sol or Ronco Basso: the must matures for ten months in stainless steel and wooden barrels, not exclusively in barriques.

At Ronco del Gnemiz, each vineyard is an individual. The plots are harvested individually, vinified individually and bottled individually – cru philosophy in its purest form. Every wine, except this one, because San Zuan is the only blend of the house. Three small Friulano parcels come together here, scattered across the hills of San Giovanni al Natisone – san Zuan in the local dialect. The oldest vines have been bearing fruit for sixty years, the youngest for twenty. Each parcel is harvested and vinified separately, but in the end they come together. What Christian Patat strictly separates with Sauvignon and Chardonnay, he deliberately brings together with Friulano. Why? Friulano is special. The grape variety, which used to be called Tocai and had to be renamed after losing a name dispute with Hungary, requires a sure instinct. It does not like new wood – so only used barriques, between a quarter and three quarters of the wine, depending on the vintage. Whole-cluster pressing, no malolactic fermentation, eight months in stainless steel, then three more in the bottle.

On the lower slopes of Ronco, where the hills of Rosazzo gently fade into the valley, lies a plot of land that Christian Patat planted in 2001 with a mission: to make the best Chardonnay in Friuli. Not a modest ambition, but anyone who knows the wines of Ronco del Gnemiz knows that nobody bakes small rolls here. The vines come from Selezione Massale, vegetatively propagated from the estate's oldest Chardonnay vines. They are rooted in the Ponca, Friuli's famous marl soil, which gives the wines their mineral tension. Exposed to the south-west, they capture the warmth of the afternoon sun – and yet they retain the freshness that only the Adriatic breeze and the proximity of the Alps can provide. What distinguishes Ronco Basso from the other white wines of the estate: It is the only one to undergo malolactic fermentation. Christian Patat gives it this creamy dimension because the Chardonnay can take it – no, because it needs it. Whole-cluster pressing, then eleven months in French barriques, a third of them new, the rest second and third vintages. Rare bâtonnage, a lot of patience.

At Ronco del Gnemiz, Sauvignon is the queen. Not Chardonnay, not Friulano – sauvignon Bianco. And the Sol is its purest embodiment. The name is initially misleading: unlike Chardonnay Sol, this wine does not come from the historic vineyard between the world wars. Its terrain is younger – around thirty years old, planted with Selezione Massale from the estate's oldest Sauvignon vines. What makes it special lies beneath the surface: calcareous soils, where the other Sauvignons of the estate are rooted on the famous Ponca of marl and sandstone. You can taste the difference. Where Peri and Salici show mineral tension, the Sol responds with an almost luminous clarity. Christian Patat treats it like all of the estate's white wines: whole bunch pressing, then fermentation exclusively in wood – used barriques and Liters barrels. No malolactic fermentation, no bâtonnage. The wine should speak, not the winemaker.

The single-vineyard Sauvignon Bianco Lozeta is the result of the avant-garde planting system, which, in contrast to the cultivation method previously practised in Friuli, not only means a higher planting density, but also the intelligent use of clones and biotypes that have been married with French offshoots. It is a further uncompromising and consistent step towards complexity and personality, with optimal utilisation and expression of the existing terroir and microclimate.

In 1981, a wine was bottled that would finally put Ronco del Gnemiz on the map. Not the biggest, not the most expensive – but the one that showed what was possible on this hill in Rosazzo. Sol Chardonnay was the beginning of a story that continues to this day. The vineyard from which it comes is a rarity: half a hectare, planted between the two world wars, when no one could have guessed that these vines would one day be among the oldest Chardonnay vines in the Colli Orientali. Today they are over 80 years old – and still produce grapes of astonishing vigour year after year. The soils are rich in organic matter, the eastern exposure catches the gentle morning light and protects the grapes from the afternoon heat. 20 hectolitres per hectare: less than half of what is considered low elsewhere. Christian Patat presses the grapes as whole clusters and ferments the must entirely in barriques – a third of them new, the rest already used. Bâtonnage? Rarely.

Half a hectare in Rosazzo. Two plots that touch like old friends: one was planted in 1954, when Friuli was still licking the wounds of war. The other followed fifty years later, in 2004, as if someone wanted to continue the story. Together they form one of those patches of land that are known in the Colli Orientali as authentic Grand Crus – a word that is not used lightly here. The winery does not (yet) reveal who Ana Freire was or is. Just this much: the name is written on the label like a dedication, preceded by an "a" like a silent "for you". At Ronco del Gnemiz, wines bear the names of those who matter – serena's mother Iris, her father Dottore Palazzolo. This Chardonnay joins this silent gallery of affection. Christian Patat vinifies it like its siblings: whole bunch pressing, fermentation in wood, the same meticulous process as for the Sol or Ronco Basso.

If Sauvignon is the queen of Ronco del Gnemiz, then Peri is her oldest heir to the throne. These vines have been bearing fruit for over forty-five years – the estate's oldest Sauvignon vineyard, planted deep in the Ponca, the famous marl soil that gives the best wines of the Colli Orientali their mineral signature. Christian Patat treats the Peri like all of the estate's Sauvignons: whole-cluster pressing, fermentation exclusively in wooden – used barriques and large Liters barrels. No malolactic fermentation, no bâtonnage. The wine should show what the age of the vines and the depth of the soil give it. And that is a lot.

A red wine with energy and contour: "Rosso del Gnemiz" combines Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon – a classic cuvée that has its very own Friulian character. The grapes come from various plots around San Giovanni al Natisone, whose Ponca soils lend depth and structure. The 2022 vintage produced ripe, healthy berries that retained their tension thanks to cool nights. Brilliant ruby red in the glass with a youthful glow. The bouquet opens with fresh black cherry, sour cherry and plum, as well as herbs, tobacco, violets and a subtle graphite note. On the palate, it shows taut, juicy fruit, concise, still youthful tannins and a lively acidity that gives it a clear contour. The barrel ageing provides additional depth, but remains discreetly in the background.