{"product_id":"rs17-merlot-pignolo-radikon-merlot-friuli-venezia-giulia-natural-wine","title":"RS17 Merlot Pignolo 2017","description":"\u003cp\u003eRS17 stands for Rosso Saša, the personal red wine project of Saša Radikon. The blend is 75% Merlot and 25% Pignolo, sourced from south-facing vineyards in Oslavia, a hamlet of Gorizia in the Collio hills of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, roughly 300 meters from the Slovenian border. Vines average around 30 years old and grow in ponca, a compressed, friable Eocene-era soil of layered marl and sandstone that imparts mineral tension and salinity to the wines. The vineyards are farmed organically with no synthetic treatments.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGrapes are destemmed and co-fermented spontaneously in 25-hectoliter open wooden vats with no temperature control, no added yeasts, and no sulfur. Skin maceration runs approximately 14 to 15 days with daily punchdowns. The wine is then aged for 12 months in used Slavonian oak botti and bottled without fining or filtration. Total sulfites are minimal at 15 mg\/L.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePignolo is a native Friulian variety that nearly went extinct in the 20th century. Its tight, pine-cone-shaped clusters produce low yields and contribute firm tannin structure, dark fruit, and herbal depth. In this blend, Merlot supplies dark plum fruit and body while Pignolo adds structure, grip, and savory herbal character. The result is a medium-to-full-bodied red with the kind of earthy complexity and food compatibility that defines the Radikon house style.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe RS line was introduced by Saša as a more approachable, earlier-drinking expression of the Radikon cellar philosophy, distinct from the estate's flagship whites and reds, which receive three or more years of barrel aging. The 2017 vintage falls within Saša's first years leading the winery after Stanko passed in September 2016.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Radikon","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":31973264818269,"sku":"RADIRSRO17C","price":39.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0019\/3363\/9735\/products\/radikon-slatnik_93f7b353-0ca6-4e0f-b901-66149edd374b.jpg?v=1581453549","url":"https:\/\/primalwine.com\/products\/rs17-merlot-pignolo-radikon-merlot-friuli-venezia-giulia-natural-wine","provider":"Primal Wine","version":"1.0","type":"link"}