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Gravner, Rujno 2006
RedItaly2006
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2020-02-11 · Published 2026-09-21 · Updated 2026-09-21
At a glance
A Wine Advocate review cited on wine.com scored the 2003 vintage 90 points, noting that after 15 years in bottle it had "dried out a bit" but "retains some faint traces of leather and licorice that kept it elegant" — describing it as "more fragile and delicate" than Gravner's whites. I could not find a critic score specifically for the 2006 vintage.
Market note: US$267 per 750ml ex-tax (Wine-Searcher, Sept 2026)
What this wine is
Josko Gravner is often called the father of orange wine. He took over the family estate at 21 in Oslavia, a Friuli village of 640 people on the Slovenian border, and initially followed the fashion of the time — stainless steel tanks, French oak. After touring wine regions elsewhere, he grew disillusioned with that approach. A 2000 trip to Georgia's Kakheti region introduced him to fermenting wine in qvevri — clay vessels buried in the earth — a technique thousands of years old, and he came away convinced this was "the authentic way" to make wine. From 2001 he began fermenting whites in qvevri; Ribolla Gialla macerated on its skins for months came out a deep amber, and that style became the template for what the world now calls orange wine — Punch Drink names Gravner, alongside Stanislao Radikon and Paolo Vodopivec, as the defining figure of that movement.
But this Rujno isn't part of that lineage. It's a red built primarily around Merlot (reportedly with a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon), fermented on the skins for five weeks in open oak vats, then aged seven years in oak and seven more in bottle — fourteen years before release. Gravner is recorded as having started fermenting some reds in qvevri from 2006, but one source (orangewines.es) describes Rujno specifically as a traditionally oak-aged wine, so I couldn't confirm whether this particular bottle passed through a qvevri at all. What's clear is this: the man synonymous with orange wine made a bottle that, in this case, is a deep red — not orange at all.
What the world says
On Vivino, this 2006 vintage carries 27 ratings averaging 4.4 — 4 at three stars, 16 at four, 7 at five, meaning nothing rated below three stars. Across all vintages (762 ratings) it averages 4.5, ranking 92,904th among 2.11 million Italian wines and 92nd among 305 Gravner wines on the platform — solidly mid-to-upper tier within the producer's own range. By vintage, 2003 leads at 4.6, with 2007 and 1999 close behind at 4.5; most years cluster tightly around 4.4–4.5, suggesting relatively little vintage variation.
The flavor profile leads with black fruit — blackberry, plum — at 24 mentions, followed by a leather-led earth group (19) and a butter-oak-cedar group (17). Structurally, tannin sits at 3.2 and intensity at 3.9, both substantial, while acidity comes in lower at 2.7 — the weight one reviewer of the 2003 compared to a Super Tuscan.
"Merlot Cab. Wow! Crazy. Tasty. Balsamic, mint, dry cherry, leather, coffee, forest floor, clove. High tannins still, mid+ acidity. It's immortal! Maybe 10–15 more years before it's really ready." — Vivino review, Jan 2026, 4.6 stars
"Coravin. Didn't know the grape variety upon tasting. Bay leaf, plum, cedar, mushroom. Surprised at 20 years age it's got the tannins of a Bordeaux blend, and then found out it's mainly Merlot." — Vivino review, Mar 2025, 4.4 stars
Wine Advocate scored the 2003 vintage at 90 points, but I couldn't find a published critic score for this specific 2006 vintage.
How I drank it
11 February 2020, 3.0 stars. My note is short: "Everyone's opinion of orange wine was poor, so between that and everything else I didn't really connect with it. Next time..." I didn't record what other wines were on the table that night, or exactly what the group's complaint about orange wine had been.
One thing is worth flagging, though: this Rujno isn't orange wine at all — it's a Merlot-led red. Because Gravner's name is so closely tied to orange wine as a category, it's easy to imagine the table arriving at this bottle already primed with expectations (or reservations) about what "a Gravner" would taste like, before ever tasting it. My note's phrase — "between that and everything else I didn't really connect with it" — reads less like a judgment on the wine itself and more like distraction from the mood of the evening. Given the Vivino community average of 4.4, a fairly high score, 3.0 looks like a score shaped by that night's context. True to my own words, "next time" — this wine is still waiting for its re-tasting.
Where this wine shows up
After a 2000 trip to Georgia introduced Josko Gravner to qvevri amphora fermentation, he began macerating white grapes like Ribolla Gialla on their skins for extended periods from 2001, producing deep amber wines. Alongside Stanislao Radikon and Paolo Vodopivec, Gravner came to be seen as the defining figure of this movement — though this particular wine, Rujno, is not part of that lineage; it's an oak-aged red.
Wine Spectator — The Wizard of Oslavia: Winemaker Josko Gravner · Punch — The Insider's Guide to Orange Wine
Artwork and stills are not reproduced for copyright reasons; scenes are summarised.
Vivino community data
2006 vintage rating distribution (27 ratings, average 4.4)
| 5★ | 7 (26%) | |
| 4★ | 16 (59%) | |
| 3★ | 4 (15%) | |
| 2★ | 0 (0%) | |
| 1★ | 0 (0%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Black fruit | 24 | blackberry 6 · plum 5 · dark fruit 4 · blueberry 3 · black cherry 1 |
| Earth | 19 | leather 8 · forest floor 2 · graphite 2 · honey 2 · balsamic 1 |
| Oak | 17 | butter 3 · oak 3 · cedar 2 · chocolate 2 · clove 2 |
| Spice | 12 | licorice 5 · mint 3 · eucalyptus 1 · fennel 1 · pepper 1 |
| Red fruit | 9 | cherry 3 · raspberry 2 · red fruit 1 · sour cherry 1 · strawberry 1 |
| Citrus | 5 | orange 3 · citrus 1 · grapefruit 1 |
| Vegetal | 3 | celery 1 · hay 1 · tomato leaf 1 |
Structure: Acidity 2.7/5 · Intensity 3.9/5 · Sweetness 2.2/5 · Tannin 3.2/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 762 ratings, average 4.5)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 4.5 | 39 |
| 2005 | 4.4 | 65 |
| 2004 | 4.4 | 75 |
| 2003 | 4.6 | 105 |
| 2001 | 4.4 | 98 |
| 1999 | 4.5 | 55 |
| 1997 | 4.4 | 42 |
| 1990 | 4.4 | 33 |
My original note (Vivino, 2020-02-11)
“다들 오렌지 와인에 대한 평이 안 좋아서 겸사겸사 잘 느끼지 못함. 다음기회에....”
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Gravner Rujno 2006?
A Merlot-led red from Venezia Giulia in Friuli, Italy, made by Josko Gravner. It ages seven years in oak and seven in bottle — fourteen years total before release — and is a traditional red, distinct from the qvevri-amphora orange wines that made Gravner famous. Vivino: 27 ratings averaging 4.4.
How much does it cost?
World average price pending (US$267 per 750ml ex-tax (Wine-Searcher, Sept 2026)) — Wine-Searcher access was blocked during this research.
What food pairs well with it?
Vivino users suggest beef, lamb, pasta and game. With tannin at 3.2, it pairs naturally with rich, fatty meats.
Why is Gravner called the "father of orange wine"?
A 2000 trip to Georgia introduced him to fermenting wine in qvevri, buried clay vessels, and from 2001 he began macerating white grapes like Ribolla Gialla on their skins for months, producing deep amber wines. Multiple publications, including Wine Spectator and Punch, credit this style as the template for what became known as orange wine. This particular wine, Rujno, isn't part of that lineage — it's a Merlot-led red.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- Wine Spectator — The Wizard of Oslavia: Winemaker Josko Gravner
- Orange Wines — Joško Gravner, the search for excellence with amphorae
- Punch — The Insider's Guide to Orange Wine
- Wine.com — Josko Gravner Venezia Giulia Rujno 2003 (citing Wine Advocate)
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France · Bordeaux★★★★★Same grapeChâteau La Pierrière, Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux 2016
France · Bordeaux★★★☆☆Same grapeMontes Alpha Merlot Colchagua Valley 2015
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