Lagrein often renders wines that are menacingly beefy, but Martin’s agenda with this muscular, rustic, and mineral-dense wine that seems to express the fire of the ancient volcano that created its bedrock nearly three hundred million years ago is to shed a little bit of the excessive weight it easily takes on, to keep it lighter on its feet. Gently extracted during its natural fermentation through daily pump overs for eight to twelve days, it’s pressed and then aged in 12-25hl old oak casks. Lagrein is easy to ripen, and all too often becomes overripe, and Martin does his best to reel it in on the hotter years. His greater preference, like ours, is for cooler years, like this 2020.
Despite Lagrein’s outward appearance as a wine solely for the colder seasons, it’s just as perfect for a brisk Südtirol summer night outside on the terrace following a sweltering hot day, or in the dead of winter with any range of brazed, grilled, roasted, or cured meats and other richly-flavored and savory food—a perfect description of Lagrein itself. It embodies the spirit and rugged feel of the rocky mountain area where it’s grown, and one should think about heart-warming, spirituous and rustic mountain-style food as the perfect match. No matter what is done in the cellar, Lagrein will always remain on the dark side with its strong wild blackberries and savory but inviting green characteristics.