Nose
The primary fruit aromas of blackberry and cranberry combine with the herbal aromas of mint and eucalyptus and a hint of black pepper to create a many-faceted bouquet.
Palate
With its sturdy tannin structure and rich fruit aromas, the Merlot can develop to the full on the palate to display great complexity with depth and length.
Growing Conditions
In 2019 the growing season was extremely varied.
It began with a dry and warm March followed by a changeable April and a rainy, very cool May. This long period of cool weather led to very slow development in the vines and slightly delayed flowering until early June. This was followed by a hot month of very summery weather in June, with an extreme heatwave with record temperatures approaching the 40° centigrade mark. These conditions promoted fast and luxuriant growth in the vines. In the following months of July and August, temperatures were more moderate. There were occasional thunderstorms, which provided welcome relief from the heat on the one hand but were also accompanied by heavy hail on the other, and that caused a lot of damage, especially in the Bozen-Gries area.
The harvest began in the first week of September which, looking back over the last 10 years, was slightly late. Beautiful autumn weather enabled the grapes to achieve full maturity, which gives promise of a good 2019 vintage.
Winemaking
Manual harvest and selection of the grapes; destemming followed by slow must fermentation at a controlled temperature and gentle agitation of the must in stainless steel tanks; malolactic fermentation and aging for 12 months partly in big wooden barrels (50%) and partly in barriques using one third new barrels (50%); blending three months before bottling.
Appearance
brilliant deep ruby red
Food Pairing
Goes well with shoulder of kid braised in olive oil and herbs on asparagus and wild vegetables, beef tagliata on a bed of rocket, rabbit stew or braised leg of lamb with spinach polenta; equally attractive with aubergine alla parmigiana.
