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2017 Alto Adige Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon “Iugum”
Peter Dipoli
While this red consists of grape varieties originating outside of Alto Adige, it tastes as local as can be. Peter Dipoli chose to plant Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in the mountains of northern Italy after extensively surveying the land, accounting for every nuance of soil and climate with the lofty ambition to make an age-worthy wine defined by its place of origin. Over thirty years later, his gamble has paid off. Pour it in a lineup of great Bordeaux growths and Napa’s finest to see how a similar blend behaves in a radically different environment. In its prime now, the 2017 can still be cellared for many more years.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2017 |
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% |
More from this Producer or Region

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The uncommon location and treatment capture a different face of this very familiar variety, deep and mouth-filling yet carrying a bracing jolt of limey acidity.

2022 Südtirol Eisacktaler Riesling
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2023 Südtirol Eisacktaler Grüner Veltliner
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2016 Alto Adige Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon “Iugum”
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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.

2020 Alto Adige Pinot Nero “Mazzon”
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2022 Südtirol Eisacktaler Sylvaner
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2019 Alto Adige Merlot-Cabernet Franc
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Merlot and Cabernet Franc born from such high altitudes display classic cedar, graphite, and black cherry notes, but with smooth, velvety tannins that bely the bottle’s youthful age.

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.
More from Alto Adige or Italy
2022 Südtirol Eisacktaler Riesling
Manni Nössing Italy | Alto Adige
2019 Alto Adige Sauvignon “Voglar”
Peter Dipoli Italy | Alto Adige
2021 Toscana Rosso “Monteleccio”
Sesti Italy | Tuscany
2020 Alto Adige Pinot Nero “Mazzon”
Ferruccio Carlotto Italy | Alto Adige
2016 Alto Adige Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon “Iugum”
Peter Dipoli Italy | Alto Adige
2020 Lagrein Riserva “Di Ora in Ora”
Ferruccio Carlotto Italy | Alto Adige
2022 Südtirol Eisacktaler Müller Thurgau “Sass Rigais”
Manni Nössing Italy | Alto Adige
2019 Lagrein Riserva “Di Ora in Ora”
Ferruccio Carlotto Italy | Alto Adige
2023 Südtirol Eisacktaler Grüner Veltliner
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2022 Südtirol Eisacktaler Sylvaner
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2023 Südtirol Eisacktaler Kerner
Manni Nössing Italy | Alto Adige
2019 Alto Adige Merlot-Cabernet Franc
Peter Dipoli Italy | Alto Adige
2022 Südtirol Eisacktaler Riesling
Manni Nössing Italy | Alto Adige
2019 Alto Adige Sauvignon “Voglar”
Peter Dipoli Italy | Alto Adige
2021 Toscana Rosso “Monteleccio”
Sesti Italy | Tuscany
2020 Alto Adige Pinot Nero “Mazzon”
Ferruccio Carlotto Italy | Alto Adige
2016 Alto Adige Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon “Iugum”
Peter Dipoli Italy | Alto Adige
2020 Lagrein Riserva “Di Ora in Ora”
Ferruccio Carlotto Italy | Alto Adige
2022 Südtirol Eisacktaler Müller Thurgau “Sass Rigais”
Manni Nössing Italy | Alto Adige
2019 Lagrein Riserva “Di Ora in Ora”
Ferruccio Carlotto Italy | Alto Adige
2023 Südtirol Eisacktaler Grüner Veltliner
Manni Nössing Italy | Alto Adige
2022 Südtirol Eisacktaler Sylvaner
Manni Nössing Italy | Alto Adige
2023 Südtirol Eisacktaler Kerner
Manni Nössing Italy | Alto Adige
2019 Alto Adige Merlot-Cabernet Franc
Peter Dipoli Italy | Alto Adige
Kermit once said...

Kermit once said...
For the wines that I buy I insist that the winemaker leave them whole, intact. I go into the cellars now and select specific barrels or cuvées, and I request that they be bottled without stripping them with filters or other devices. This means that many of our wines will arrive with a smudge of sediment and will throw a more important deposit as time goes by, It also means the wine will taste better.