A wine's label can tell a lot about an area. This label is a confusing Germanic Italian mix. Upon locating the winery on the map we see it nestled into the Italian side of the Austrian Alps. War torn and linguistically divided this area has bounced back and forth between Italian and Austrian/German control for a century. Matt Kramer in a great review here (of a different lagrein) discusses the area as well as the grape.Lagrein reminds me of an Amarone. Deep dark purple in the glass with raisins on the nose. The initial sweetness is gently nudged aside by a citric acidity. What initiates as a sweet wine leaves us high and dry on the finish. This grape has earned a spot on my list of favorites and absolutely warrants further tasting and study. Like an Amarone, lagrien likely pairs up with a hearty cold weather meal and seems like it could cellar for a decade. For $20 this one is a steal.
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