Refosco is family of grapes indigenous to Northeastern Italy and Slovenia. Refosco dal Peduncolo (which means Refosco with the red stems) is the most highly regarded of the family making intensely earthy wines with high acidity.
The enticing Scarbolo has great depth with many aromatic worlds to explore. Blackberry, wet leaves and twigs, white pepper, and cigar box starting to show from the age, shade off into a background of hints and feints, suggestions of subterranean incense that never shows itself.
In the mouth, soft plum with coffee and dark spice sets the tone, turning sinewy and moving slowly but inexorably toward the upper register with refined tannins filling in a dense but quiet background. Those top layers of acidity and minerality persist through the finish becoming increasingly dominant as the wine grows lean despite the rich fruit.
Feral and grim, quietly macabre, with spooky, high theatrics, a good match for Radiohead’s Paranoid Android.
Technical Notes: Aged in French oak barrels of varying sizes for 2 years.
Score: 91
Price: $36
Alc: 13%
Exploring the Philosophy of Food and Wine 