Incrocio Manzoni 2.15

Also known as Manzoni Rosso, Manzoni Nero, I.M. 2.15.

A red crossing from Prof. Luigi Manzoni's 1924-1930 Conegliano breeding trials, the same Glera x Cabernet Franc cross behind Incrocio Manzoni 2.14 (the pollinating vine was long assumed to be Cabernet Sauvignon, corrected to Cabernet Franc by DNA analysis in 2010) — but a different individual seedling selection, registered separately as MASAF scheda 109 and, unlike 2.14, given its own commercial identity as "Manzoni Rosso."

Cultivation is still limited and concentrated in the Marca Trevigiana, in the hills between Conegliano and Vittorio Veneto, where it reached some diffusion in the 1950s-60s; small experimental plots exist in Trentino and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It never achieved the commercial success of its sibling Manzoni Bianco, but it is more established than 2.14, appearing by name in several DOC disciplinari (Colli di Conegliano, Colli Euganei, Montello Asolo, Piave, Colli Asolani-Prosecco) as well as multiple Veneto IGTs. The wine shows deep ruby-violet color, low-to-moderate tannin, and cherry, raspberry, blackberry and violet aromas with a herbaceous edge.