Conte Emo Capodilista. La Montecchia. Raboso 'Forzate'

Veneto IGT
Grape: Raboso

2019
Spiced, brambly fruit cast with iron and salt.  A rich, savoury wine with drying tannins and spot-on good acidity - a very fine example of Raboso. 12.5%

2021
Powerful and loose damson and bramble fruit, a twist of black pepper, bitter dark chocolate, porcini and ripe sage.  Nothing obtuse or obvious here, just wonderful wine. 13%

Producer: Conte Emo Capodilista

Raboso is an ancient Venetian variety, loved by sailors who admired its unbreakable spirit and its ability to improve with age despite being on the sea.  Raboso’s popularity has waned; now it covers just 1000 hectares in total.  High tannin, high acidity and low alcohol make the variety a challenge, one that Giordano has committed to, naming it after a treasured distant relative, the blessed Giordano Forzatè, friend to St. Anthony of Padova.  The vines are over 50 years old, a little more Raboso Piave than Raboso Veronese, all are cordon trained, grown on sandy clays that rest over volcanic rock.  The grapes are hand-picked in November and dried for a short time and then crushed and fermented on the skins for 15 days in a temperature-controlled steel tank.  The wine is then aged in a Slavonian oak botti for 12 months.