Dorigo Pignolo Colli Orientali del Friuli DOC Vigneto Montsclapade

Friuli Colli Orientali DOC, Italy

Italy's finest Pignolo — an indigenous Friulian red grape nearly extinct until Dorigo's revival. The Montsclapade vineyard's Eocene flysch soils produce Pignolo of extraordinary tannin, dark fruit concentration, and mineral depth. Dark ruby; blackberry, dried herbs, iron, tobacco, and a firm structure requiring 10+ years. Aged 24 months in French barriques. Lives for 30+ years. A genuine Italian wine discovery.

Pairing intelligence

• cheese: The wine's iron-mineral tannin and dark fruit requires aged alpine cheese's crystalline force to balance; mountain honey bridges Pignolo's herbal bitterness to the cheese's delicate sweetness.
• main: Pignolo's firm tannin and dark fruit concentration requires the protein density of braised venison; Friulian herbs (mountain thyme, sage) bridge the wine's own herbal-mineral character; polenta absorbs.