Gravner Ribolla 2014

From a much cooler vintage that generally produced slender and elegant wines, this is a darkly colored orange wine with shiny copper and ruby highlights. The Gravner 2014 Ribolla is a very successful interpretation of this unique grape from northeast Italy. Although you get macerated flavors that are found in other vintages, this wine shows more silkiness and subdued nuance. It does not have as much of that dusty white grape tannic quality that you often get in these wines. The bouquet is beautiful, with dried apricot and brandy, and this wine from 2014 is drinking beautifully right now. Drink 2024-2035. 95 Points. Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate.

Roughly thirty-two hectares (of which eighteen are under vine) located in the high quality area of Oslavia in the Collio, a true if unofficial grand cru for Ribolla Gialla. The estate is arguably Italy’s best (by far) at making minimal intervention wines, with long macerations, was one of the first to turn to amphoras as an aging vessel. There is simply no comparison between Gravner’s wines (in matters of texture, cleanliness, precision and depth) and similarly made wines by practically anyone else in the region or the country, for that matter. That fact recognized, I want to stress that the talent level has always been extraordinary here, such that the wines have always been outstanding, and this was true even long ago when long macerations and amphoras weren’t an issue. Witness for example the magnificent 1983 Ribolla Gialla that I remember well from my university days in Rome. Today the estate is all about trying to re-establish a natural balance in its vineyards (for example by creating ponds on the property and by planting olive, wild apple trees and cypresses to create a habitat for different animals), moving away with as much technology and equipment and utensils as possible, such as barriques. Over the years the estate has also moved away from a lot of the different varieties it had planted, so there are no more Chardonnay, Merlot and Pinot Grigio wines produced, for example. The Ribolla Gialla wines age extremely well and though you have to like white wines being treated as reds, it’s hard to argue with their quality. Even more impressive is the Rosso Breg, made with Pignolo (the only red grape left on the property), a variety that gives “tough tannins” a whole new meaning, yet Gravner’s version is remarkably complex and smooth. IAN D'AGATA