Refosco is a lesser-known red grape in a predominately white wine region of Northeastern Italy. It’s another of Italy’s rustic reds with high acidity.Although I have had some good Refosco, this one is hard to love. But there is redemption
The nose is stinky—plum and rosemary but mostly barnyard. It’s not complex enough to be interesting. It just stinks.
On the palate, sour acidity squeezes the thin layer of red berry fruit. Yet, despite the high acidity, there is not much life. The wine just sits there, meager and forlorn, waiting for the slowly spreading tannins to give it some heft.
So where is the redemption?
You have to wait patiently while the other elements have their say, but gradually you come to see that this wine is about texture. The tannins are present early—thick and bristly like a coarse cushion they glide with rough hewn dignity refusing to grip or lash out. The tannins exude restraint.
Don’t get me wrong. There are no folds to nestle in and no liquid sorcery. It is rustic to its core, but there is something to be said for noble grit.
What little fruit power there is fades leaving a sour/bitter profile on the finish. With all its limitations, this is a one-trick pony, but noble grit it is a neat trick
The brittle, fuzzy guitars and layered vocals of Tom Petty’s Mary Jane’s Last Dance captured the texture of this wine.
Score: 87
Price: $18
Alc: 12.5%
Exploring the Philosophy of Food and Wine 