Raboso

Raboso is the traditional red of the Piave plain in the Veneto, and it is one of the most uncompromising Italian varieties — so high in acid and tannin that it has historically been difficult to sell.

The name is usually connected to rabbioso, angry, which is a fair description of the young wine. It is deeply coloured, with sour cherry, redcurrant, blackberry and a marked vegetal, herbal edge, and the combination of ferocious acidity with firm, grainy tannin makes it unyielding for years.

There are two varieties under the name: Raboso Piave, the original and more austere, and Raboso Veronese, an offspring that is softer, earlier-ripening and more widely planted.

Its historical virtue was durability. Raboso's acidity and tannin made it almost indestructible, and it was the wine shipped from Venice on long sea voyages precisely because it survived them. That same robustness made it useful for blending into weaker wines, which is where most of it went.

The modern approach is appassimento. Drying a portion of the grapes before fermentation, in the manner of Amarone, concentrates sugar and softens the impression of acidity, and the resulting wines have real depth and a dried-fruit richness that balances the structure. There is also a sweet passito version, Raboso Passito.

It is also used for a substantial, deeply coloured rosé.

Plantings are modest and almost entirely confined to the Veneto.