Campo del Viotto is Scarbolo’s top Merlot, sourced from the Ferrovia/Campo del Viotto vineyard in Friuli‑Venezia‑Giulia, where gravelly alluvial soils and significant diurnal shifts help the variety ripen fully while retaining freshness. The 2016 vintage benefits from careful berry selection and a partially appassimento‑inspired approach, giving a wine that is both powerful and texturally smooth, showing a distinctive northeast‑Italian take on Merlot.
The earliest‑picked whole clusters are dried for about 20 days before fermentation in small oak barrels, where the must macerates on skins until around mid‑December, building color, tannin and flavour intensity. After pressing, about 80% of the wine ages in large tonneaux and 20% in small barriques for roughly two years, followed by six months’ bottle ageing to harmonise oak, fruit and tannin before release.
Tasting Notes
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Nose: Ripe marasca cherry, blackberry and wild berries, with layers of sweet tobacco, dark chocolate, herbs, smoke and black olive.
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Palate: Intense and concentrated yet elegant, showing juicy dark fruit, soft sweet tannins and well‑integrated oak spice with hints of cocoa and coffee.
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Finish: Long and persistent, marked by spicy, savoury notes and lingering dark‑berry and tobacco nuances.
Awards and Accolades
James Suckling awarded Scarbolo Campo del Viotto Merlot 2016 a score of 91 points, praising its attractive herb, smoke and black‑olive character highlighting bramble and blackberry aromas and flavours, and noting its full‑bodied, linear profile with tight tannins that need a little time to unwind. Other critics describe the wine as an elegant, mid‑weight expression that shows an intriguing, more refined side of Merlot from Friuli.
Serving and Cellaring
Serve at 16–18°C, opening the bottle a couple of hours in advance or decanting gently to let the aromatic complexity and oak integrate. This Merlot pairs well with rich dishes such as Tuscan cold cuts, roast white or red meats, game birds, and mature cheeses, and it has the structure to age for at least 8–12 years from the vintage, developing more tertiary notes of leather, tobacco and dried fruit.
Technical Details
Alcohol: around 14% ABV.
Residual Sugar: Dry red style.
Closure: Cork.
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