Sgarzon Cilindrica Teroldego Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT 2019

A Teroldego that shows its origin unvarnished: dark purple, slightly hazy, almost opaque to the rim. The nose comes across as wild and earthy and needs plenty of air. Then sloe, rowanberry and elderwood emerge, austere and delicate at once, joined by beetroot, ivy and boxwood. A rough diamond to be approached sense by sense.

The Sgarzon site lies in the Campo Rotaliano, a valley plain wedged between three-thousand-metre peaks. Over millennia the Noce river has deposited limestone, porphyry and gneiss here; beneath the Sgarzon vines lies dolomitic limestone. By day the rock faces reflect the sun, by night cool mountain air flows through the valley.

Single-varietal Teroldego. Elisabetta Foradori took over the estate in 1984 and revived the nearly forgotten variety through years of massal selection, together with the University of Milan and the San Michele research centre. Instead of barrique, the estate works with Spanish clay amphorae, the tinajas, in which wine and skins breathe for eight months. Since 2013 her son Emilio has overseen winemaking. 12.5% vol., dry.

Youthful acidity and a fine tannic structure keep the wine demanding for now. The dark berry fruit mingles with the earthy notes from the nose, with fine minerality and delicate salinity; a note of sour cherry joins in and drives the drinkability. Anyone opening it now should decant it and serve it slightly chilled in a large glass.

Robiola on grilled green asparagus with fresh figs and caramelized walnuts, monkfish saltimbocca on sun-dried tomatoes with thyme gnocchi, or warm smoked roast beef with braised red pepper and rosemary.

Foradori farms 28 hectares according to Demeter guidelines, 80 percent of it Teroldego; the Demeter logo appears on the label. Once opened, the wine continues to evolve over several days.