Bibemus honours the Tyrolese

The Tyrolese are a lovely and talented people who speak both German and Italian. However with the majority of the population being of Austro-Bavarian heritage, I believe you would hear more ‘Ja ja, das ist eine sehr gut wine‘ in your wine travels through the area. Recently Bibemus decided to pay homage to the wines of Trentino-Alto Adige on a chilly Melbourne evening in the warm confines of Bar Di Stasio. While the group did not dress up in Tyrolean costume, I did my best my playing ‘99 Luft Balloons‘ in the background and practicing my favourite Year 7 German phrase ‘Das ist meine hamburger’ and ‘Mein Leiblingsfach ist Deutsch‘ to the poor sod sitting next to me.

The focus for the wine dinner was in renowned Trentino-Alto Adige varieties like Lagrein and Teroldego. Excellent wine sourcing meant we also had the opportunity to try several back vintages of the same wine of these unusual yet delicious grape varieties. Thank you, Bibemus team. Here are my notes from the evening below.

Foradori Fontanasanta Manzoni Bianco 2011 – Biodynamic since 2002. Natural-smelling, sweet yellow fruit, nutmeg spice, nice phenolics too. Manzoni Bianco is a riesling and pinot bianco cross.

Foradori Fontanasanta Nosiola 2011 – Sweet florals, brown apple sourness, clean yet with a hint of brassyness, nutmeg spice again, heat at the finish. Hint of wheat. More noticeably phenolic finish. Nosiola is an indigenous variety. It fermented on skins for 8 months and in amphorae. 

Franz Haas Lagrein 2010 – Ripe plum, sour notes on palate, blue fruits, medium-bodied, thick fruit base. Fine medium-weighted tannins, low acidity. Good example. 

Erbhof Unterganzner Josephus Mayr Lagrein Riserva 2010 – Hint of black and wild berry fruit and olive, more savoury, sage herbs, more oak-derived tannins. Fuller-bodied. Beautiful with cooked ham on herbed pasta dish. 

Cantina Terlano Lagrein Riserva Gries 2010 – More blue fruit sweetness, medium-bodied, malty oak, spice in the wine suited black pepper in dinner dish.

Carlotto Lagrein Riserva Di Ora in Ora 2010 – Blue fruits, fresh, warm vanilla. Surprisingly Dolcetto-like.

Kellerei Bozen Lagrein Riserva Greiser 2010 – Bright purple fruits, fleshy fruit and acidity, not as much length on the palate. 

Kellerei Muri Gries Lagrein Moritzing 2011 – Strange chicken-stock cube scent, lean on flavour, light finish, nutty too. Saline. At this point we had Sandro Mosele commenting on the sometimes ‘wateriness to the variety’. Recommended in Australia that varieties like Aglianico, Sagrantino and Sangiovese be planted instead of Teroldego and Lagrein.

Kellerei St Michael-Eppan Lagrein Sanct Valentin 2007 – Purple and dried fruits, herbs, slight ‘pooey’ smokey character, bayleaf. More oak-derived characters.

Kallerei Schreckbichl Colterenzio Lagrein Sigis Mundus Cornell 2007 – Dried fruit, clean red/purple fruits, boiled lolly character too. Mineral tones. Adam Foster says there’s a sort of ‘confectionary-savouryness’ going on. 

George Ramoser Weingut Untermoserhof Lagrein Riserva 2010 – Initial burger-ring note, red candle, pot pourri, long flavour, medium long tannins. Silky texture. Very interesting wine. 

Foradori Teroldego Vigneti Delle Dolomiti 2010 – fresh purple fruits, higher acidity, medium-bodied, silty tannins. Very balanced. Great wine. Hint of cocoa at the finish.

Foradori Teroldego Vigneti Delle Dolomiti 2005 – Fleshy red/purple fruit, so fresh, Cab-Franc-like, violets, clean finish. Tomato bush, bayleaf and oregano hints due to the age. 

Foradori Teroldego Vigneti Delle Dolomiti 2009 – Old oak maturation, fine tannins, dense fruit, saucey. Note: 2009 was a very hot vintage.

Foradori Granato 2009 – Extremely fresh, pomegranate notes and phenolics like when biting into seeds. 18 months in wood, concentrated hints of cola, high-toned wine. Confectionary-like.

Foradori Teroldego Vigneti Delle Dolomiti 2008 – Difficult vintage with lots of rain. Red berried, higher acidity, juicy, light flavour on the finish.

Foradori Granato 2008 – High perfume but not confectionary like this time, dried and sour red fruits, soft-fruited pomegranate juice finish.

Foradori Teroldego Vigneti Delle Dolomiti 2007 – Beautiful complete perfume, red to black fruit spectrum, medium-bodied, balanced acidity (the most) and fine lingering tannins. WINES OF THE NIGHT.

Foradori Granato 2007 – Black smokey spicy whole berried goodness, fresh tannins. Medium-bodied.

Foradori Teroldego Vigneti Delle Dolomiti 2006 – Not as warm as 2007. Some herbal Cabernet-like characters. Gamey, plush savoury flavour and texture. More secondary characters evident.

Foradori Granato 2006 – Soft herbal, cocoa, coffee ground and orange rind aromas. Silty tannins and mineral savoury finish.

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Suffice to say we were all a little tipsy at the end of such a long evening of drinking. This evening highlighted the incredible vibrancy of the Lagrein and Teroldego grapes in the hands of producers who pay them the utmost respect. These are delicious wines worth seeking out. Thanks must also go to the importers for bringing them in.

Guests included: Sandro Mosele, Adam Foster, Marcus, Neville Yates, Jane Faulkner, Orazio Lo Castro, Anth D’Anna, Maurice Santucci, Matt Paul and Michael Trembath.

Tags: Alto Adige, Italy, Lagrein, Tasting, Teroldego, Wine