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2010 Alto Adige Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon “Iugum”
Peter Dipoli
When drinking Peter Dipoli’s wines, it is not unusual to forget the grape variety in question and instead revel in the awe-inspiring site that gave birth to these creations. Hundreds of meters above the valley floor in the Dolomites of Alto Adige, these vineyards offer all the right conditions for the making of a grande vino: elevation, slope, exposure, and soils of clay and limestone that yield low quantities of characterful, concentrated fruit. In Peter’s cellar, vinification is a means of bringing out the most of the terroir in order to capture the beauty of the site in bottle. Natural yeasts transform grapes to wine, then both white and red see a healthy dose of wood for a lengthy aging period. The intense, structured nectar can easily digest it. The oak barriques help soften the grippy mountain tannins of the profound, dark-fruited Iugum, giving an elegant texture to envelop the powerful core within. Dipoli’s creations represent unique interpretations of both grape and terroir, and offer a compelling taste of the Dolomites young and old.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2010 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon |
Appellation: | Alto Adige |
Country: | Italy |
Region: | Alto Adige |
Producer: | Peter Dipoli |
Winemaker: | Peter Dipoli |
Vineyard: | Planted in 1992 |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone |
Aging: | Wine ages in bottle until 4 years after harvest |
Farming: | Sustainable |
Alcohol: | 14.5% |
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About The Producer
Peter Dipoli
About The Region
Alto Adige
In the heart of the Dolomites, Alto Adige is Italy’s northernmost wine region. Having changed hands multiples times in its history between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire (it shares a border with Austria), it boasts strong Germanic influence on its culture, language, cuisine, as well as its wines.
The mountainous geography is the principal determinant of local winemaking styles, with the high-altitude vineyards and cool Alpine climate favoring primarily crisp, racy, aromatic whites from varieties like Kerner, Sauvignon, Müller Thurgau, and Grüner Veltliner. A Mediterranean influence on climate is channeled north up the valley until Bolzano, permitting the cultivation of certain reds as well, among which Schiava, Lagrein, Pinot Nero, and Merlot fare best.
Small growers who once sold fruit to the area’s multiple co-ops are now increasingly bottling their own wines. The arrival of many quality-oriented artisans on the scene caught our eye years ago, and we now count three estates from Südtirol, as it is also known, in our portfolio. These high-acid mountain wines make for a beautifully invigorating aperitivo with thinly sliced speck, a local specialty.
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Kermit once said...

Kermit once said...
Let the brett nerds retire into protective bubbles, and whenever they thirst for wine it can be passed in to them through a sterile filter. Those of us on the outside can continue to enjoy complex, natural, living wines.
Inspiring Thirst, page 236