2004 Moschioni Schioppettino

I was blown away by Moschioni’s 2004 Schiopettino. It opens with a super-ripe, sweet nose followed by a multitude of coffee bean, licorice, tar, cocoa, creme brulee and jammy fruit sensations. Endowed with stunning richness, opulence and purity, it is a remarkable wine in every way and sets a new benchmark for this quirky, indigenous grape. In 2004 100% of the grapes were dried for 23 days prior to being fermented, giving this wine a personality that combines aspects of Amarone-like richness wedded to an unmistakably Friulian character. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2018. Michele Moschioni's tiny estate is located in Cividale. An afternoon spent in his cellar is a fascinating education in the purity of expression that Friuli's indigenous red varietals are capable of achieving in the hands of a serious, passionate producer. Moschioni credits Romano Dal Forno as an early inspiration for his wines. He is also very close to Gravner, Damijan and Zidarich, all small artisan producers who craft hand-made, natural wines. Moschioni favors late harvests which can stretch into mid-October or early November. Because fruit often struggles to ripen in this northerly microclimate, in some vintages Moschioni performs a slight drying or appassimento on a portion of his grapes. As Moschioni says, he likes fat wines and these are powerful, intense offerings with dry extract levels that are off the charts. The wines are fermented using only natural yeasts. For his top bottlings - Pignolo, Schiopettino and Rosso Reâl - Moschioni uses open-top wood fermenters without temperature control. The wines all do malolactic fermentation in French oak (Allier and Tronçais, roughly 80% new) where they age for about two and a half years. The SO2 levels are minuscule and the wines see no fining or filtration prior to being bottled in accordance with the lunar phases. In short, these wines are among the most natural, unmanipulated wines readers will encounter from anywhere in the world. Consumers who want to understand the potential of indigenous varieties like Pignolo and Schiopettino owe it to themselves to check out the stunning wines of Michele Moschioni. Importer: Vinifera Imports, Ronkonkoma, NY; tel. (631) 467-5907