Grape

Tazzelenghe

Tazzelenghe is a red grape of Friuli-Venezia Giulia whose wines can combine assertive tannin with marked acidity. Its Friulian name is commonly explained as “tongue cutter,” an allusion to the force of the young wine. The Colli Orientali, including the hills around Buttrio and Cividale, remain its main regional setting.

Structure and the producer's response

Acidity and astringency produce different sensations: acidity supplies sourness and freshness, while tannin contributes the drying, gripping feel. Their combination helps explain the grape's reputation for severity when young. How much structure reaches the glass also depends on ripeness and maceration.

Jacùss offers a concrete example of the patient approach to this grape. The estate identifies a Tazzelenghe vineyard in Torreano planted in 1989 and describes fermenting with the skins before extended oak maturation and a further period in bottle. This is an example of sustained local cultivation and a deliberate cellar response to the wine's structure.

Maturation can make the tannins feel less angular and bring the fruit and wood into a more integrated expression. The interest of Tazzelenghe lies in that evolution as well as its youthful force. It belongs alongside Pignolo as one of Friuli's distinctive structured reds, though the two grapes should be assessed through individual wines and producers.

Sources

• Consorzio Friuli Colli Orientali e Ramandolo, “I vini,” Tazzelenghe section.
• Jacùss, “Tazzelenghe,” vineyard and production information.