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Gravner

Rosso Gravner 2010

Price: $159.95
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Tasting notes

This is Merlot processed like no Merlot anywhere else: four-plus weeks of skin contact in buried Georgian qvevri pulls out a savory, umami-edged core of dark fruit, dried violet, and fennel alongside the dense, almost chewy texture the method produces. It was bottled in 2014 after four years in old Slavonian oak, and at this point in its life it drinks like something that has genuinely earned its age.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
VioletBlack CherryEarthFennel Seed
  • Style: Dry, full-bodied red; ~90% Merlot, ~10% Cab Sauv; early-1960s vines; qvevri-fermented; 13.5% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: ~90% Merlot, ~10% Cabernet Sauvignon; vines planted early 1960s; ponca (marine marl and sandstone) soils; Oslavia, Collio Goriziano
  • Winemaking: 4+ week skin maceration in buried beeswax-lined Georgian qvevri; wild yeast; no temperature control; 4 years in large old Slavonian oak; bottled September 2014 without fining or filtration
  • Serving: Serve at 62-65F; 45-60 min decant recommended; has significant aging potential
  • Pairing: Braised lamb, beef short rib, wild boar, aged Montasio, porcini mushroom risotto
  • Similar To: For fans of structured, savory reds with extended maceration — think Taurasi or aged Sagrantino with an orange-wine sensibility

Rosso Gravner is a blend of approximately 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon from vines planted in the early 1960s in Oslavia, a hamlet of roughly 640 people in the Collio Goriziano hills of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, less than 200 meters from the Slovenian border. The wine is labeled Venezia Giulia IGT because Gravner's winemaking does not conform to DOC Collio production rules. Soils are ponca, a layered marine marl and sandstone approximately 45 million years old that provides drainage and mineral complexity.

The grapes fermented on the skins in beeswax-lined Georgian qvevri — terracotta vessels holding between 1,300 and 2,400 liters — buried in the cellar floor for over four weeks. No selected yeasts, no temperature control, no additions beyond minimal sulfur. After fermentation the wine spent four years aging in large, well-used Slavonian oak barrels before being bottled without fining or filtration in September 2014 on a waning moon.

Rosso Gravner is now a discontinued wine. Josko Gravner phased out international varieties including Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon after 2012, redirecting the estate's focus entirely to indigenous grapes — Ribolla Gialla for whites and Pignolo for reds. The 2010 vintage is among the last produced under this label, making it a document of a specific and now-closed chapter at one of Italy's most influential estates.

Gravner farms 15 hectares of vines across three parcels — Runk in Italy (planted 1901), Hum and Dedno in Slovenia — following organic and biodynamic practices without Demeter certification. The estate produces between 22,000 and 30,000 bottles per year across all wines.

The wine's savory, umami-forward character and firm tannins suit braised or slow-roasted meats — lamb shoulder, beef short rib, or wild boar. Aged hard cheeses such as Montasio stravecchio or Parmigiano-Reggiano hold up to its structure. Mushroom-based dishes, including porcini risotto or pasta with truffle, echo the earthy, ferrous quality in the wine.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Full Body
Grapes:, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon
Farming:, Organic and Biodynamic
Vintage:, 2010
Alcohol:, 13.5%
Country:, Italy
Region:, Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Appellation:, Venezia Giulia IGT
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

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Producer profile

Gravner

Josko Gravner is a third-generation winemaker born in Oslavia in the Gorizia province of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. His family established their farm at this location in 1901, and the estate began bottling wine commercially in 1973. In his early twenties Gravner took over the winery and quickly built a reputation for technically precise, modern-style Friulian wines, earning multiple Tre Bicchieri ratings from Gambero Rosso through the 1980s. A research trip to California in 1987, during which he tasted over a thousand wines, left him disillusioned with technology-driven winemaking. A devastating hailstorm in 1996 destroyed approximately 95 percent of his crop, catalyzing his first extended skin-contact experiment with surviving Ribolla Gialla. In 1997 he sold his stainless steel tanks, replaced barriques with large old wooden barrels, and began fermenting with wild yeasts. In 2000 he traveled to Georgia and ordered the first qvevri for the estate; the 2001 vintage was the first to be fermented entirely in buried Georgian clay vessels.

Gravner farms 15 planted hectares across three parcels: Runk in Italy, planted in 1901, and Hum and Dedno in Slovenia. Soils throughout are ponca — marine marl and sandstone. He follows organic and biodynamic practices, including working by lunar calendar, but does not hold Demeter certification, having declined it to farm for the vineyard's benefit rather than for labeling purposes. No chemical fertilizers or synthetic treatments are used. Vines are planted at high density and yields are kept low. Fruit is hand-harvested.

In the cellar, Gravner ferments in 47 beeswax-lined Georgian qvevri buried in the cellar floor, ranging from 1,300 to 2,400 liters. Fermentation proceeds with ambient yeasts and no temperature control. For the Rosso Gravner, skin maceration lasted over four weeks. After fermentation, the wine aged four years in large, old Slavonian oak barrels before being bottled without fining or filtration in September 2014. Gravner discontinued the Rosso Gravner after the 2012 harvest, when he removed international varieties from the estate and shifted red wine production entirely to Pignolo, the indigenous Friulian variety used in his current red wine, Breg.

Wine region

Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy

The Collio Goriziano is a narrow band of hills in the province of Gorizia in northeastern Friuli-Venezia Giulia, sharing its eastern boundary with Slovenia's Goriska Brda appellation. The border cuts directly through what is, viticulturally, a single continuous landscape of steep, terraced hillsides. The region's defining soil type is ponca — alternating layers of marine sandstone and clay marl deposited roughly 45 million years ago — which provides strong drainage on slopes, retains moisture in dry periods, and imparts a stony mineral character to wines grown here. Elevations across the key hillside vineyards range from roughly 100 to 200 meters above sea level, with Adriatic breezes moderating temperatures.

Oslavia, a subzone within the Collio, sits at the extreme eastern edge of the DOC, essentially on the Slovenian border, and has become associated specifically with extended skin-contact wines made from Ribolla Gialla. Gravner and his neighbors — including Radikon, Dario Princic, and Damijan Podversic — farm vineyards that physically overlap the border, and many estates hold parcels in both countries. Gravner's wines are labeled Venezia Giulia IGT rather than DOC Collio because his qvevri-based winemaking does not conform to the denomination's production requirements. The estate's three parcels are Runk in Italy, and Hum and Dedno in Slovenia.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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