Notify me
2016 Alto Adige Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon “Iugum”
Peter DipoliDo not miss this Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon blend in all its mountain-made glory. From Peter Dipoli’s stunning, high-altitude slopes amid the Dolomites, this Iugum has a lot to say, but it doesn’t shout at you with overripeness, oak, or extraction. It sings to you with subtlety and refinement. 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. Open a bottle now alongside your favorite cut of beef, and stash a few away in a cool place to watch its beautiful evolution over the next five, ten, and fifteen years.
—Tom Wolf
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2016 |
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: | 14.5% |
More from this Producer or Region
2019 Alto Adige Sauvignon “Voglar”
Italy | Alto Adige
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.
2019 Alto Adige Merlot-Cabernet Franc
Italy | Alto Adige
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.
2023 Südtirol Eisacktaler Kerner
Italy | Alto Adige
No lack of minerality in this perfumed white from the Italy-Austria border.
2020 Lagrein Riserva “Di Ora in Ora”
Italy | Alto Adige
This cuvée is dark-fruited velvet in a bottle.
2017 Alto Adige Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon “Iugum”
Italy | Alto Adige
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.
2023 Südtirol Eisacktaler Grüner Veltliner
Italy | Alto Adige
A vibrant, crisp, taut, white grown at over 600 meters in granite soil in the very northern part of Italy.
2020 Alto Adige Pinot Nero “Mazzon”
Italy | Alto Adige
Always one of the dreamiest versions of the variety we import—ethereal and bright, with notes of orange peel and pink peppercorn.
2019 Alto Adige Pinot Nero “Mazzon”
Italy | Alto Adige
Exquisite Italian Alpine character that could come from nowhere else in the world—one of Italy’s most beguiling hidden gems.
2022 Südtirol Eisacktaler Sylvaner
Italy | Alto Adige
This Sylvaner, from high in the Dolomites, is a finely channeled mountain breeze, an exercise in textural delicacy that will leave your palate tingling with the sensation of crispy minerals.
2022 Südtirol Eisacktaler Riesling
Italy | Alto Adige
Crisp and lean with mouthwatering minerality, Nössing’s Riesling is one of great finesse and precision.
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
2019 Alto Adige Sauvignon “Voglar”
Peter Dipoli Italy | Alto Adige
2017 Alto Adige Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon “Iugum”
Peter Dipoli Italy | Alto Adige
2020 Lagrein Riserva “Di Ora in Ora”
Ferruccio Carlotto Italy | Alto Adige
2023 Südtirol Eisacktaler Kerner
Manni Nössing Italy | Alto Adige
2023 Südtirol Eisacktaler Grüner Veltliner
Manni Nössing Italy | Alto Adige
2022 Südtirol Eisacktaler Sylvaner
Manni Nössing Italy | Alto Adige
2022 Südtirol Eisacktaler Riesling
Manni Nössing Italy | Alto Adige
2020 Alto Adige Pinot Nero “Mazzon”
Ferruccio Carlotto Italy | Alto Adige
2019 Lagrein Riserva “Di Ora in Ora”
Ferruccio Carlotto Italy | Alto Adige
2019 Alto Adige Pinot Nero “Mazzon”
Ferruccio Carlotto Italy | Alto Adige
2019 Alto Adige Merlot-Cabernet Franc
Peter Dipoli Italy | Alto Adige
2020 Marche Rosso “Bastian Contrario”
La Marca di San Michele Italy | Le Marche
2019 Alto Adige Sauvignon “Voglar”
Peter Dipoli Italy | Alto Adige
2017 Alto Adige Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon “Iugum”
Peter Dipoli Italy | Alto Adige
2020 Lagrein Riserva “Di Ora in Ora”
Ferruccio Carlotto Italy | Alto Adige
2023 Südtirol Eisacktaler Kerner
Manni Nössing Italy | Alto Adige
2023 Südtirol Eisacktaler Grüner Veltliner
Manni Nössing Italy | Alto Adige
2022 Südtirol Eisacktaler Sylvaner
Manni Nössing Italy | Alto Adige
2022 Südtirol Eisacktaler Riesling
Manni Nössing Italy | Alto Adige
2020 Alto Adige Pinot Nero “Mazzon”
Ferruccio Carlotto Italy | Alto Adige
2019 Lagrein Riserva “Di Ora in Ora”
Ferruccio Carlotto Italy | Alto Adige
2019 Alto Adige Pinot Nero “Mazzon”
Ferruccio Carlotto Italy | Alto Adige
2019 Alto Adige Merlot-Cabernet Franc
Peter Dipoli Italy | Alto Adige
2020 Marche Rosso “Bastian Contrario”
La Marca di San Michele Italy | Le Marche
Vintage Chart Mentality
Vintage Chart Mentality
Trust the great winemakers, trust the great vineyards. Your wine merchant might even be trustworthy. In the long run, that vintage strip may be the least important guide to quality on your bottle of wine.—Kermit Lynch