Had the great pleasure of meeting one of my "Wine Heroes" last week. Not just meeting Alois Lageder, famed Italian winemaker, but participating in a mentored tasting of a number of his single-vineyard biodynamically produced wines from Alto Adige. He makes over 20 different wines in the highlands of the Dolomites. He carefully chooses which grape will be planted at which particular site, reaching such decisions by considering the whole terroir, the complex and total array of all of the natural factors that determine the uniqueness of any given locale. He has been at the forefront of biodynamic agriculture for many years, with the long-term goal being to strengthen the vineyards' biological equilibrium. By increasing the vitality of the vines, their resistance to parasites and disease is enhanced. Allowing full ripening of the grapes, and utilizing gentle vinification processes (such as relying upon gravity vs. the use of pumps), Lageder is able to produce wines of singular typicity. These elegant wines truly taste of their origin. Two of my favorites from the tasting were the 2007 "Benefizium Porer" Pinot Grigio & the 2007 "Haberle"Pinot Bianco. The PG was a shining example of the often-flat varietal. Super-clean, stunning minerality, just enough acidity and some creaminess for balance. Just a hint of lime for the minimal fruit component. The Pinot Bianco, on the other hand, could not have packed more fruit onto the palate. This dry, fresh, vibrant fruit-bomb washed starfruit, green melon, grapefruit, and tart green apple over my beaming tastebuds. Chockfull of fruit flavors and fully supported by crisp minerality. This is the best Pinot Bianco I've ever tasted. This man is a genius, and I hope that he is able to create wines this good for many years to come. While the PG would be great with anything with flippers from the sea, the PB is a super "stand-alone" wine, simply calling for the good times to roll. We are very proud to be able to offer Alois Lageder's wines here at Wines.com, and we wish he and his family continued Great Success.
Cheers, Buckley Wineholt
2 comments:
Alois does indeed rock, as does Elena Walch. top two in that order IMHO.
Also, a bit of housekeeping if I may...
We'd love to spread some of the funny around. We were wondering (if you find our style agreeable) if you would be willing to share some link love? A sort of "I'll link yours if you link mine" arrangement. No money, no contracts, just a simple line of code supplying a link. Check us out, and realize we are just out for fun. Think The Onion meets the Wine World. We have over a decade of experience in the business, have been published in the major magazines, and still write a bit on the subject, but needed an outlet to vent on all that makes us crazy in the head regarding the wine world. Hence http://www.slingingjuice.com - call it therapy.
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Yours,
Tannat
excellent points and the details are more precise than elsewhere, thanks.
- Norman
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