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2018 Lagrein Riserva “Di Ora in Ora”

Ferruccio Carlotto
Discount Eligible $38.00
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We had been searching for a Lagrein like this for years before we came across Carlotto’s gorgeous rendition almost a decade ago. Michela Carlotto had taken the Lagrein (la-GRINE) grape—known for producing rustic, dense, and tannic reds—and eked an incredible beauty from it through earlier harvests and shorter macerations. This cuvée is dark-fruited velvet in a bottle.

Tom Wolf


Technical Information
Wine Type: red
Vintage: 2018
Bottle Size: 750mL
Blend: Lagrein
Appellation: Alto Adige
Country: Italy
Region: Alto Adige
Producer: Ferruccio Carlotto
Winemaker: Ferruccio Carlotto
Vineyard: Planted in 1946, 2003, 2006, 2012, 1.8 ha
Soil: Porphyry, Limestone, Clay, Alluvial stones
Aging: Aged in large, older oak botte, very small percentage aged in new oak barrique
Farming: Sustainable
Alcohol: 13.5%

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About The Region

Alto Adige

map of 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.

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Kermit inspecting wine barrels

For the wines that I buy I insist that the winemaker leave them whole, intact. I go into the cellars now and select specific barrels or cuvées, and I request that they be bottled without stripping them with filters or other devices. This means that many of our wines will arrive with a smudge of sediment and will throw a more important deposit as time goes by, It also means the wine will taste better.