Sounds like a peripheral character in a Russian novel.
2004 Vodopivec Vitovska Venezia Giulia IGT
This was indeed served blind as the warm-up wine for an extraordinary tasting I will report on in Wine Focus (as it's Piemonte month). The color of old, burnished gold gives no immediate hint as to what this wine may be. Initially too cold for its particular perfumes to escape the glass, I was thus forced to work on mouthfeel and taste for my first clues. It had a richness of body & a level of complexity consistent with something that had been fermented on the grape skins.
For some of the other guys in the tasting group this wine was a total mystery. They had never been exposed to this particular style of winemaking, and the comments ranged from "I don't like anything in this" to "I do not understand what this is about."
After some time in the glass the wine began to warm up & show more fruit (warm peaches...mmm) & an even rgeater textural richness. I looked at our host & said that it reminded me of the Zidarich Vitovska but not quite as rich, nor as evocative of a red wine (for those who have not tasted the Zidarich, the closest aromatic companion I can conjure up is a Truchot Burgundy). Well imagine my surprise when the wine was revealed to be a Vitovska. Actually it was not that much of a parlor trick, given that there are so few wines of this type available to consumers.
I revisited the wine after the formal tasting & it continued to get better and better as it warmed/aired. The warm peach elemetns came even more to the front & there were herbal/spice nuances as well. It was a fascinating wine that I hope to taste again.