Nose
The aromatic variety is characterized by violets, bitter chocolate, wild berries, licorice, and vanilla.
Palate
A wine of conspicuous magnitude, it presents itself as compact and very concentrated with prominent varietal character.
Velvety, with soft tannins, prominent structure, very long and lasting in flavor.
Growing Conditions
This wine, full of character, comes from selected individual vineyards stocked with vines grafted to slow growing rootstock and trained on wire trellises (Guyot). The extraordinary quality of our Riserva stems from grapes grown under the best conditions on the loamy soils in the community of Ora with tender care of the vineyards.
Winemaking
The stems are removed from the grapes immediately upon arrival. After one day of cool maceration in order to improve the fruit bouquet, the wine is fermented at a constant temperature of 28 – 30 °C (82 – 86 °F) for about 10 days. During fermentation, the must is kept in regular contact with the skins through circulation pumping and gentle pressure from below. In this way, we achieve ideal results with the coloring from the skins and emphasize the fruitiness of the wine. After two gentle rackings, the wine is ready for a lengthy process of maturation which is played out in various phases in wooden barrels. Only after 6 months in large oak barrels, following blending, 12 months in small casks of French oak (barriques), followed by 6 additional months of aging in the bottle, does this wine find its way into the hands of the buyer who, although now in possession of an adequately aged and balanced wine which can be enjoyed immediately, will nevertheless be able to impart the Lagrein Riserva additional completeness with several years of cellaring.
Appearance
Deep, compact garnet red with violet reflections.
Food Pairing
Hearty red meat dishes, game, sharp cheeses.
