2011 Ribolla Gialla
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Tasting notes
There’s a lovely candied apple note that first introduces the 2011 Ribolla Gialla Anfora, as raw honey and exotic savory spices develop in the glass. This is focused and chiseled in feel, further accentuated by a twang of sour citrus. Ginger-laced orchard fruits and hints of tangerine form toward the close. It leaves a staining of liquid floral concentration while also coming across as warming, as a subtle hint of heat remains. There was only a small amount of rain in 2011, which concentrated the juice within the berries, coupled with a late harvest starting on November 24th, and no noble rot. As a result, the 2011 is a very unique Gravner Ribolla.
Critic scores
Average Score
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
This is a very early preview because this wine won't be released until 2025, more than a decade after it was bottled. This was by many accounts a superior year for the grape, and the 2011 Ribolla Riserva already offers some extra and quite unexpected layers of ginger and cinnamon. It's also important to note that this is one of the few vintages of the area's Ribolla that did not experience any noble rot, because the summer was hot and dry. This particular sample brings huge intensity—and huge alcohol too. Overall, I think we can expect deep textural richness and a more layered aroma profile from this edition when it finally hits the shelves.
The harvest ended on 23 November 2011. Owing to the very hot and dry year, there was no botrytis. Fermented in qvevri and kept on the skins until 21 March 2012, then racked off the skins and aged in qvevri for 12 more months, followed by six years in large oak casks. Lustrous amber. Deep and compact with enormous depth, but at the same time still a little tight on the nose. Bread crust, acacia honey and savoury, saline notes. Very tightly knit apricot and spice palate, and still very compact but with a fine, persistent thread of acidity running all the way through the wine. Lots of super-fine tannins like a wall-to-wall carpet for the still-compact fruit. A Ribolla Gialla monument. (WS)
About the producer
Along with the likes of Radikon, Joško Gravner – whose vines straddle the Italian-Slovenian border – is a leading light of the natural-wine movement. His skin-contact Ribolla Gialla has inspired many imitators, while the rare Pignolo is prized by those in the know.