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2016 Alto Adige Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon “Iugum”
Peter DipoliDo not miss this Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon blend in all its mountain-made glory. From Peter Dipoli’s stunning, high-altitude slopes amid the Dolomites, this Iugum has a lot to say, but it doesn’t shout at you with overripeness, oak, or extraction. It sings to you with subtlety and refinement. Notes of Cassis, black cherries, and espresso draw you into the glass and keep you coming back to decipher what makes this cuvée and terroir so special. Open a bottle now alongside your favorite cut of beef, and stash a few away in a cool place to watch its beautiful evolution over the next five, ten, and fifteen years.
—Tom Wolf
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2016 |
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, 1.1 ha |
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