“Pupillo” Rosso Friuli Colli Orientali DOC 2023

Ronco del Gnemiz | Friuli
Az. Ronco del Gnemiz Soc. Agr. | Via Ronchi 5 | IT 33048 San Giovanni al Natisone

02102723 · 0,75 l · 61,33 €/l · Price (DE) incl. VAT, excl. Shippingavailable immediately

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.

But here's where it gets interesting: this vintage's Pupillo combines everything that would normally go into the Rosso del Gnemiz – grapes from the oldest plots of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot – with grapes from Buri Bellaria. The site in Buttrio, which until recently was cultivated by Enzo Pontoni from Miani, where almost hundred-year-old Merlot vines stand together with ten per cent Refosco on barren, rocky limestone soils. The cuvée: forty per cent Merlot, twenty per cent each of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Refosco. An unusual blend for Friuli – refosco, this original Friulian grape variety, brings a tangy flavour that gives the international varieties a local anchoring.

Christian Patat has deliberately designed the Pupillo differently to its big brother. Smoother, more accessible, a wine for now, not for the cellar. Where the Rosso del Gnemiz requires patience, the Pupillo invites you to drink it. Not a compromise, but a decision: Sometimes a vintage tells its own story, and sometimes that story needs a different name. SUPERIORE.DE