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| Gravner's Pignolo vines grow on the slopes of Collio-Brda, in Friuli. |
Should I to
choose only one Friulian wine to take with me to a deserted island, my choice
would be Pignolo. Hands down. This grape’s allure leads me to the following
bold hypothesis: if in the 1960’s Friuli hadn’t made a political decision to concentrate
on white wine in its brand building, today Pignolo could be the same for Friuli
what Nebbiolo is to Piemonte. However, the more sensible option for Friuli was
to go for white wines, as Piemonte and Toscana already had themselves
established as the premium quality Italian red wine producing areas, and South
Italy was highly competitive at the lower price points in the red wine market.
Consequently, Friuli became the source of Italy’s finest whites, while its
exceptional, local red grapes such as Pignolo effectively remained under the
radar - silently growing in very small numbers on the limestone slopes of Colli
Orientali.
Even though
Pignolo and Nebbiolo are very different varieties, they surprisingly have a lot
in common when it comes to their personalities: both varieties are high
maintenance. Aptly for this grape, the Italian word ”pignolo” translates to
”fussy” in English. In the vineyard, the one certain thing about Pignolo is its
low yield. Everything else around its growth is very random - for no apparent
reason a vine might grow just one bunch of grapes, or give five bunches if it
is in the mood. You never know! Further, in the winery Pignolo presents a
challenge due to its high tannin and intensive colour. Making Pignolo wine is
very messy indeed.
Still, the greatest difficulty - or potential, depending on
how you look at it - is its demand for aging before integrating and softening
Pignolo’s tannins. However ripe grapes you use, Pignolo, very much like
Nebbiolo, demands a couple of years maturation in oak and at least eight to ten
years in bottle before tannins sufficiently integrate to show the wine’s
potential. Naturally, the favourable flip-side of the coin is the tremendous
aging-potential that comes with the abundant, drying tannin, high acidity and
plentiful, interesting fruit that Pignolo boasts. If you have an opportunity to
taste a slightly older Pignolo, you’ll be greeted with surprisingly velvety yet
intensive tannin, moderate to high acidity, and unique, elegant aromas.
Referring
to Pignolo as ”Friuli’s Nebbiolo” is a metaphorical way of expressing its
paradoxical tannic elegance and aging potential. When it comes to comparing the
wines that these two superb grapes produce, it is important to keep in mind
that the resulting wines are very different from each other.
Structurally,
Nebbiolo comes often in light, highly elegant styles, and its colour starts to
fade quickly. Pignolo, on the contrary, always produces a dark ruby red wine,
and its colour stays this way. Also, Pignolo’s structure is full bodied, dense
and muscular, and aromatically completely different from Nebbiolo. Presenting
flavours of wilderness, Pignolo is characterized by forest fruit such as
blackberry, blueberry and cranberry, as well as dark fruit like dark cherry and
plum. The more developed range of Pignolo’s aromas include forest floor,
spices, leather, chocolate, liquorice and tobacco.
As if these
exotic forest flavours weren’t enough, I have still to reveal the jewel in Pignolo’s aromatic crown. All of the Pignolos that I tasted in
Friuli share this very particular, captivating aroma that I haven’t detected in
any other wine before: a soft perfume that resembles the scent of face powder.
When I take a sniff of a glass of Pignolo it takes me straight to a theatre
backstage make-up room, where mirrors are lined with glowing light bulbs and
soft powder puffs are in constant use. How fitting for Pignolo - a grape that
is as demanding and elegant as any true diva!
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