Home | Wine Reviews | Wine Journals | Updates

by Tom Hill

A self-admitted wine geek, Tom lives in Northern New Mexico and works as a computational physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing numerical neutron transport & large scale code development. He has been tasting wines since 1971, participates locally with a couple of large tasting groups in his area, and is practically a fixture at most California wine festivals, such as the Hospice du Rhône, Rhône Rangers, and ZAP. Other interests: Tom is heavily into competitive sport fencing (foil & epee), biking, cooking, basketball, skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing.

Some Alto Adige Wines - March 12, 2014

We tasted tonight (3/12/14) some AltoAdige Wines:

  1. Castelfeder Doss Chard DOC: Sudtirol/AltoAdige (13.5%; www.Castelfeder.It; www.VolioVino.com; VolioVino/Denver) 2011: Med.light gold color; strong appley/melony/Chard slight honeyed rather stony/mineral lovely nose; rather tart quite appley/melony/Chard rather strong stony/minerally/chalky fairly rich flavor; very long tart/tangy ripe/appeley/melony/Chard strong stony/chalky/earthy finish; quite an attractive terroir-driven Chard at a fair price. $20.00 (BWM)
    _________________
  2. Castelfeder Rieder Lagrein DOC: Sudtirol-AltoAdige (13%; www.CastelFeder.It) Egna/Cortina sulla Strada del Vino/AltoAdige 2012: Very dark color; quite earthy/dusty/loamy some plummy/Lag/ boysenberry bit rustic/mushroomy/root cellar nose; soft strong plummy/Lag/boysenberry rather earthy/loamy/mushroomy flavor w/ light tannic bite; med.long soft rather earthy/loamy/rustic/dusty light plummy/Lag slight peppery/mushroomy finish w/ light tannic bite; a fairly pleasant rendition of Lagrein but doubtful ager. $20.00 (BWM)
    _________________
  3. ElenaWalch Lagrein DOC: AltoAdige (13%; www.ElenaWalch.com) 2008: Med.dark color; strong plummy/Lag rather fragrant/spicy/rosemary light earthy fairly attractive nose; soft light/dilute plummy/ Lag/rosemary slight tangy/earthy flavor w/ very lighht tannins; med.short light plummy/Lag/ rosemary/ herbal light earthy/loamy somewhat dilute/weak finish w/ very light tannins; a rather pleasant nose but pretty lackluster on the palate; ratherr disappointing even at $17.00 (PrimaIlC)
    _________________
  4. Kurtkatsch Cortaccia DOC: Lagrein/AltoAdige (13%) 2006: Med.dark color; slight funky/rustic/herbal bit graphite/metallic/earthy light plummy/Lag bit perfumed/insecticide nose; soft bit tannic/tangy light funky/rustic/plastic/bit unclean slight plummy/Lag/metallic flavor w/ light/bitey tannins; med.short bit tangy/metallic/sharp/thin light plummy/Lag finish w/ some sharp/bitey tannins; a rather underwhelming/ rustic/funky rendition of Lagrein but you could do much worse for $12.00 (PrimaIlC)
    _________________
  5. AloisLageder DOC: Sudtirol/AltoAdige Lagrein (13%; www.AloisLageder.EU; www.DallaTerra.com)
    2005    : Med.dark color w/ slight bricking; some earthy/funky/rustic bit unclean light plummy/Lag slight aromatic nose; soft slight bretty/unclean light plummy/Lag/earthy rather rustic flavor w/ light tannins; med.short some bretty/unclean very light plummy/Lag/earthy bit tangy/metallic finish w/ little tannins; rather unclean/rustic and a bit tired w/ little fruit. $19.00 (SFW&S)
    _________________
  6. Tenutae Lageder Romigberg Kaltersee Classico DOC: AltoAdige (100% SchiavaPiccola & SchiavaGrigia; Biodynamic; 12.5%) 2009: Rather light color w/ slight bricking; very light/fragrant Pinotish/cherry slight earthy/funky/loamy nose; tart light/delicate plummy/cherry/Pinotish some earthy/ loamy/funky flavor w/ very little tannins; med.short light/delicate slight plummy/cherry/earthy/loamy/dusty bit rustic finish w/ little tannins; a pleasant enough rendition of Schiava but just that. $25.00 (WE)
    _________________
  7. Georg Mumelter Griesbauerhof DOC: Sudtirol St.Magdalener Classico (EA; 13.0%; www.OMWines.com) Greisbauerhof Rentsch/Bozan/AltoAdige; OliverMcCrumWines 2009: Med.light color; light earthy/loamy light Pinotish/smokey/cherry/spicy somewhat perfumed/aromatic quite attractive nose; bit tart light earthy/mineral/loamy light/delicate cherry/Pinotish/smokey complex flavor w/ light/ gentle tannins; med.long light/delicate bright/cherry/Pinotish/smokey some earthy/loamy complex finish w/ light/delicate tannins; showing a bit of age but a lovely/delicate rendition of Schiava at a great price. $17.00 (K&L)
    _________________
  8. Griesbauerhof DOC: St.Magdalener Classico (Schiava; EA; 13%) GeorgMumelter/Bolzano/AltoAdige 2010: Med.light color; bit more perfumed/brighter/cherry/Pinotish light earthy/dusty/loamy quite fragrant/perfumed lovely nose; softer quite bright/cherry/cherry cola light earthy/dusty/smokey flavor w/ light/soft tannins; very long bright/spicy/cherry/Pinotish/smokey light earthy/loamy very perfumed finish w/ light/delicate/smooth tannins; more bright cherry/Schiava fruit than the '09; a lovely perfumed Schiava at a great price; a wine swap w/RobTabeau/FringeWine. $19.00 (vRT)
    _________________
  9. Laimburg Lagrein DOC: AltoAdige/Sudtirol (13.0%; www.Laimburg.biz.It) 2007: Very dark/near black color; very strong plummy/black cherry/Lag/boysenberry/licorice huge fruit very light earthy/loamy pretty intense/lush nose; soft very perfumed/aromatic/insecticide intense plummy/black cherry/black cherry cola/boysenberry/licorice/Lag slight earthy/metallic/tangy flavor w/ light/soft tannins; very long intense/ plummy/Lag/black cherry cola/ripe/bit jammy slight earthy/loamy finish w/ soft/smooth tannins; a pretty intense smooth/lush/ripe Lagrein in a more modern style; lovely stuff at a fair price. $26.00 (WE)
    _________________
  10. LaVis i Balazzini Lagrein DOC: Trentino (12.5%) 2003: Very dark color; strong toasty/Fr.oak/smokey huge fruit/boysenberry/Lag/licorice/Paso jammy slight earthy rather perfumed/intense very interesting nose; soft very strong toasty/Fr.oak intense boysenberry/licorice/blackberry/Paso jammy bit earthy/mineral some complex flavor w/ some hard/firm tannins; very long/lingering intense jammy/boysenberry/ blackberry/licorice/spicy/plummy strong toasty/Fr.oak slight earthy finish w/ some hard tannins; not showing much signs of its 10+ yrs of age; rather modern/Calif-style of Lagrein; this is how they'd make Lagrein in Paso if they could..ooops..guess they already do; lacks the earthy/mineral character of AltoAdige Lagrein; terrific ripe red for a very good price. $18.00 (FWH/Pas)
    _________________
  11. Laimburg Olleiten Kalterersee Auslese Lago di Caldaro Scelto Classico Superiore DOC: AltoAdige/
    Sudtirol (100% Schiava; 12.5%) 2008    : Very light near rose color; very perfumed/aromatic bright/ cherry/Pinotish/black cherry light smokey/earthy lovely fragrant nose; rather tart light bright/cherry/ Pinotish/very spicy slight earthy/ripe flavor w/ light/gentle tannins; very long/lingering bright/cherry/ Pinotish/spicy/black cherry light smokey/earthy quite perfumed/aromatic finish w/ light/delicate tannins; quite a lovely/delicate cold-climate/Pinotish red at a very fair price. $24.00 (WE)
    _________________
  12. Az.Agr. Roeno di Fugatti Enantio DOC: ValdAdige TerraDeiforti (14%; www.CantinaRoeno.com;
    www.MagellanWineImports.com) 2005    : Very dark/near black color; very intense boysenberry/ blackberry/very ripe/ licorice light toasty/smokey/Fr.oak slight earthy/herbal almost Lambrusco-like or Cab-like/grapey quite perfumed nose; soft/lush/very ripe licorice/boysenberry/blackberry slight herbal/Cab-like light toasty/Fr.oak/smokey flavor w/ light/smooth tannins; long/lingering rather ripe/jammy/lush intense blackberry/boysenberry/licorice/pungent finish w/ a bit of a tannic bite; showing a little bit of its age; very ripe & grapey/jammy like a Paso Mourvedre or a dry Lambrusco; quite an interesting red. $34.00 (DiVino)
    _________________
  13. la Cadalora Majere IGT: Vallaganina/Trentino (13%; 70% Casetta/30% CabSauv) 2002: Dark color w/ slight bricking; strong plummy/boysenberry/blackberry/licorice/Syrah-like some earthy/mineral some toasty/Fr.oak/pungent quite complex nose; soft ripe/rich/lush strong boysenberry/licorice/plummy Syrah-like/bit peppery light toasty/smokey/Fr.oak w/ light/tight tannins; very long/lingering plummy/boysenberry/ licorice/Syrah-like bit toasty/Fr.oak slight herbal finish w/ light/grippy tannins; much like AA Lagrein but w/o the earthy/mineral character; showing no signs of its 10+ yrs age; quite a lovely red at a stupid/silly price. $12.00 (WH)

And the usual stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:

1. Enantio: One of the autochthonous varieties from southern Trentino; formerly known as Lambrusco a Foglia Frastagliata ("toothed leaf"); close relation to Marzemino/Teroldego/Lagrein
_________________
2. Casetta: Another autochthonous variety local to Terra dei Forti vlly/Vallagarina; formerly known as
Lambrusco a Foglia Tonda. Rescued from near extinction by AlbinoArmani from 100 yr old ungrafted
vines in the 1990's. 30 acres of vines, grafted & ungrafted in Vallagarina.
_________________
3. The Monday before, we tried a tableau of Lagreins w/ my SantaFe group. This was the balance of my reds from the AltoAdige, both Lagreins and Schiavas. The Lagreins here included more of the pedestrian fare ones, though some were every bit as good as the previous ones.

The primary red grapes are Lagrein & Schiava. They couldn't be more different. The Lagreins tend to be much bigger reds, w/ plummy & black cherry character and seem to take age well. The Schiavas tend to show more earthy/loamy character and a rather Pinotish style; some w/ a lot of bright cherry fruit as well. They also grow a little PinotNoir as well, but I've not had any that I thought measured up to a good Schiava; they don't seem to have the bright fruit that a good Schiava shows. I tend to much prefer the whites that come from this region and think many of their GWT's are as good as anything from Alsace.

TomHill

[Additional Wine Reviews from Tom Hill]

 

Home | Wine Reviews | Wine Journals | Updates

Copyright © 1993 - 2013, Tom Hill - All rights reserved
No original material may be reproduced without written consent
Mail & Comments - Grape-Nutz
Updated 5.28.13