2021 Petrussa Schioppettino di Prepotto

Schioppettino may be Friuli’s greatest red variety - Ian D’Agata, author of the definitive book Native Wine Grapes of Italy, certainly thinks so - but is not well-known outside the region. That’s in part because there are only about 150 hectares of it planted, versus 10 times that much each for refosco, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot. The grand cru area for schioppettino and location of 90% of its plantings is the commune of Prepotto, in the province of Udine, right next to Italy’s border with Slovenia. Soils are alternating layers of softer calcareous clay and harder sandstone, called ponca locally and flysch by geologists.

Petrussa has been a family winery since the early 1900s. Schioppettino is their signature wine, and they are one of the reference-point producers of the variety. This bottling ages for 24 months in French oak barriques, most of which are older. The wine is red fruit framed by wet earth, cedar, and spice, including the variety’s signature cracked pepper note. It is high-toned and perfectly balanced in its fifth year, with moderate tannins and still-incisive acidity (another characteristic of the grape). Drink it now from a Burgundy stem, or wait 5-10 years to meet it in its evolved state. A classic Friulian pairing is salame in aceto con polenta; other ideas include game and aged cheeses.