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It is the most controversial and misunderstood wine that we have carried in the past three years. More importantly, though, Gravner's Breg Anfora has also been the most inspirational, earning Gravner a dedicated chapter in Sergio’s new memoir, Passion on the Vine. While we’ve previously offered the 2002 and 2003 Ribolla Anfora, this marks our debut offering of the 2002 Breg Anfora—Gravner’s second pure-amphora (Italian variant: anfora) interpretation of his signature white blend. A sense of mastery is already apparent in this early-stage rendition of the amphora technique (wherein the wine’s maceration and aging is conducted in large terracotta vessels that Gravner lines with beeswax and buries in the earth for a seven-month period), indicating his refined grasp of a technique that predates Christ. Being Gravner, he will only continue to further evolve in this antediluvian quest. However, it is important to note that Breg Anfora won’t be part of this oeuvre forever; as of 2010, Gravner will be working exclusively with Ribolla Gialla—the Friulian grape whose career he restored—and the rare Pignolo, which some contend is actually Sangiovese Grosso, the clone used in Toscana's Brunello di Montalcino.We at IWM have educated and opened many to this provocative wine. That said, it remains a wine that people still don’t fully understand. While some have claimed that Gravner’s wines are fragile and do not respond well either to decanting or time in the glass, time after time we have found that the exact opposite is true. A wine like Breg defies everything you think you know about a white wine. It drinks, as we’ve always contended, like a red. Indeed, tasters evaluating it under blind conditions have identified it as such. It does not lose composure when poured; rather, it alters in subtly beguiling ways, with each encounter revealing distinct nuances and requiring you to wholly reorient yourself to the wine at hand. And we’re not talking about just a few hours here. Try 2, 4, 8—even 24—Breg ’02 didn’t cease changing: it evolved and intensified, exhibiting a behavior that was totally unclassifiable and conducting the virtual antithesis of a linear evolution. Its course is dynamic, both challenging and thrilling in sheer unpredictability. It is a self-determining wine, providing a tangible reflection of Gravner’s noninterventionist policies.
- Country: Italy
- Region: Friuli-Venezia Giulia
- Subregion/Appellation: Venezia-Giulia IGT
Clay amphorae are believed by many to be the first tanks ever to hold wine—historians have used documents from Georgia (formerly in the USSR) to verify that winemakers have used this ancient practice for more than 4,000 years. In contrast to this ancient technique, today's Friulian winemakers have embraced vinification equipment like stainless steel, temperature controls, and barrique. Indeed, Josko Gravner helped pioneer the use of these tools. However, the iconoclastic and ever-changing Gravner has taken on a new "old" approach—that of using amphorae. Contradiction? No. Experimentation? Yes. The relentless passion for perfection through experimentation changed Gravner's philosophy, for he was among the first to combine bio-dynamic winemaking with a more traditional, nonintrusive style in this white wine epicenter.
Gravner is a proponent of the use of open-top wood vats and extended maceration on the grape skins, while he eschews added yeasts, sulphur dioxide, and temperature control—in short, he supports purely natural winemaking. Gravner employs both amphorae and large oak barrels to make his three wines: Collio "Breg," Ribolla Gialla, and "Rosso Gravner." The grapes for these wines come from his 18 hectares of vineyards in Gorizia (Oslavia) that straddle the Italian-Slovenian border. It is here that he exercises his current approach to wine. Gravner avers, "I am convinced that wine is a product of Nature, not of Man, whose role therefore is to accompany its maturation process while avoiding any artificial intervention." Every bottle of Gravner's wines is a testament to the pure beauty of that philosophy.
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