Critic Scores
Next, I couldn’t resist trying the 1994 Ronchi di Cialla Schioppettino di Cialla, a wine that ages spectacularly well, even in average vintages, as this bottle once again proved. Ronchi di Cialla is an outstanding Friuli Venezia Giulian estate that single-handedly put the Cialla viticultural area on the map, focusing everyone’s attention on the high quality of many of the region’s previously underrated native wine grapes. Certainly, the estate brought Schioppettino back to life, which until then had been reduced to just a smattering of vines. Should you be fortunate to find them, the 1982, 1985. 1988 and 1990 vintages are magical, but on this day the 1994 performed admirably, effectively showcasing the wine’s ability to age, developing silky, ultra smooth tannins in the process. Aromas and flavors of small black fruits, botanical herbs, and green peppercorn (absolutely typical of Schioppettino, a grape variety especially rich in rotundone, a molecule that evokes pepper) were both intense and precise, and lingered long on the aftertaste. Drunk slightly cool, the wine actually did not overpower the spaghetti cacio e pepe, though it would have been a better fit for a white meat dish rather than the delicate lovely ravioli with burrata and candied lemon, a Giuda Ballerino classic. -Ian D'Agata, Vinous
