An ancient rediscovered grape, tasted: the Recantina

Some time ago a bottle of wine arrived at home that my father described as an "experiment".
The label said "Recantina", which is a grape native to the province of Treviso, a very ancient variety cultivated since the early 1600s and mentioned several times by Agostini "these blessed recandine grapes for the great benefit they provide, as they yield a large quantity of grapes that make good and beautiful wine".

In the post-phylloxera era all traces of it were lost, but thanks to the intuition and work of some producers this "forgotten" grape has come back to life: it is grown mainly in the area of Montello, in the province of Treviso, not far from the town of Valdobbiadene, famous for its prosecco.
It is often confused with raboso.

There are two varieties of this grape: Recantina a Pecolo scuro and Recantina a Pecolo Rosso.

Now, let us return to our dear old bottle, signed by Bisol, Maculan and Gregoletto, vintage 2012:
I opened it the way one opens something whose contents are unknown, driven by a great curiosity to discover what lay behind the cork that separated me from the experiment.

I poured the contents into the glass.
The color is an intense, deep ruby red.
On the nose the red fruit is immediately recognizable – forest fruits, blueberry, currant, blackberry – with a light presence of hazelnut and vanilla, along with a significant spicy component.
On the palate it is dry, soft, and warm with good acidity. A long finish in which the notes of red fruit return – blueberry jam, dried fruit – and always that spice, which is nonetheless very soft.
Excellent paired with grilled meats, well-seasoned red meat, or game.
A discovery that increasingly makes me appreciate how varied and important our Italian wine world is.