Description
Girlan is one of the finest ‘grower collectives’ in Northern Italy’s spectacular Alto Adige, a stone’s throw from the Austrian and Swiss borders and encircled by the saw-toothed Dolomite Mountains, producing exemplary whites and reds. They have long encouraged their growers to focus on those varieties that best suit their soils, aspects and altitudes and they have led the way in single ‘commune’ and single vineyard wines. Girlan was also one of the first collectives in Alto Adige to pay its growers according to the quality of their fruit and apply strict controls on yields.
It is important to understand the central role that collective wine growing has had in Alto Adige. For a multitude of reasons including: geographic isolation, mountainous topography and tiny average holdings, local growers have historically banded together to form co-operatives. Over 70% of the region’s wines are produced by such co-ops and a number, including Girlan, control a wonderful array of the region’s finest sites.
Over the last 10 years Girlan has been busy establishing itself as one of the most interesting names of Alto Adige. It was the arrival of new cellarmaster Gehard Kofler in 2006, however, that really kicked things up a gear. By 2008, Girlan had five wines competing for Gambero Rosso’s ‘Tre Bicchieri’ (‘Three Glasses’) with one 2008 wine eventually winning this top designation. Girlan and Kofler control some great sites in Alto Adige’s Uberetsch-Unterland subregion. Their wines are of great freshness, delicacy and aromatic complexity, a sure reflection of great sites, low yields and the rigour that Kofler brings to Girlan’s spotlessly clean cellar.
About this wine: From a vintage built on fresh, vibrant fruit and soft, ripe tannins, the 448 Rosso is drawn from grapes grown (unsurprisingly) at around 448 metres above sea level in the Alto Adige. It’s crafted from a blend of two indigenous Südtirol varieties—Lagrein and Schiava—along with Pinot Nero, with which the terroirs of Alto Adige have a proven affinity. The Lagrein comes from the deep, sandy soils of the Bassa Atesina (a warmer terroir, ideal for ripening this variety). The Pinot Nero and Schiava are grown on the hillside vineyards of Cornaiano, in sunny, well-aerated vineyards. Fermentation is in tank and old barrels, and the wines complete their maturation in concrete vats.
It’s a moreish, aromatic, fleshy Alpine red with delicious notes of dark cherry fruit, aniseed and alpine herbs, textured/slippery fruit, sappy freshness and fine, food-friendly tannins. We could drink a lot of this, and without apology.
RRP $39 *Our Price $32.99*
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