J. Hofstatter 2016 Lagrein Alto Adige Vigna Steinraffler

"This is a wine of unusual contrasts – on the one hand full-bodied and concentrated while on the other, time and again tasters are surprised at its positive rusticity combined with elegance. It is enormously deep in colour, dark garnet and almost black in the centre. Earthy, minerally and spicy on the nose, the fruit initially lurks in the background, then develops to form a complex aroma of ripe black plums. The spiciness follows through on the palate with the assertive complex mineral character once again emerging on the finish.

Our Steinraffler estate provides near perfect conditions for this native Alto Adige/South Tyrolean vine to thrive. In 1990 we set apart a portion of these vineyards to re-introduce a variety which had almost become forgotten in Alto Adige – Lagrein with short grape stems, grafted onto low vigour rootstocks and trained using the guyot trellising system. For us, the return of this old variety has symbolised a happy marriage between tradition and innovation.

Only the term “Vigna” guarantees the origin of a single-vineyard wine in Alto Adige."