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by Thor Iverson |
April 04, 2009
Sometimes,
we crave the comfort of the familiar — a well-loved book that’s been
nearly dog-eared to death, the favorite T-shirt that’s been rendered
super-soft by years of wear, that nostalgia-inducing song that has
somehow found its way onto every one of your iPod playlists. At other
times though, only the shock of the new will do. Some players in the
wine world evidently agree, as a rising number of producers seem dead
set on defying convention with every cask.
A bunch of them are in the Friuli region of northeastern Italy, and
their wines have the look and taste of ... well, who knows? Think
dense, almost opaque whites that aren’t particularly white, or white
wines with the sort of bitterness that’s always been the near-exclusive
domain of reds. They’ll grab your attention and make you wonder —
sometimes out loud — just what the hell it is you’re tasting.
One of the best among this growing fraternity of weirdness is Radikon, whose Jakot, Ribolla Gialla, and Oslavje
bottlings are brilliant and impossible to ignore. They stand out in
another way, too: the winemaker believes the standard 750 milliliters
is too stingy for a single evening’s consumption, so he’s upped his
standard bottle to a full liter. We think we’re in love.
Radikon wines are available at The Wine Bottega (341 Hanover Street, Boston, 617.227.6607).
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