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2013 Alto Adige Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon “Iugum”

Peter Dipoli
Discount Eligible $58.00
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When it comes to importing wines from Italy, we tend not to go for cuvées made from internationally prevalent grapes, because the country boasts so many native varieties: Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Rossese, Nerello Mascalese, and Nero d’Avola, to name just a few. Every once in a while, however, if the terroir has something really interesting to say and the wine is simply too good to pass up, we make an exception. Peter Dipoli’s Iugum is one of these rare bottles. From his stunning slopes near Bolzano in Alto Adige, Dipoli crafts this blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, an outstanding Italian cousin of Right-Bank Bordeaux, with fragrant aromas of black cherries, tobacco, and plums. Enjoy now through 2030.

Tom Wolf


Technical Information
Wine Type: red
Vintage: 2013
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 Region

Alto Adige

map of 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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Inspiring Thirst

I want you to realize once and for all: Even the winemaker does not know what aging is going to do to a new vintage; Robert Parker does not know; I do not know. We all make educated (hopefully) guesses about what the future will bring, but guesses they are. And one of the pleasures of a wine cellar is the opportunity it provides for you to witness the evolution of your various selections. Living wines have ups and downs just as people do, periods of glory and dog days, too. If wine did not remind me of real life, I would not care about it so much.

Inspiring Thirst, page 171