Granato Teroldego Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT 2017 1500ml Magnum

A powerful red that holds richness and finesse together: extract-laden fruit, fine tannins, an arc of acidity that carries both. Already a pleasure to drink now, though a few years of bottle age will do it good.

The Campo Rotaliano is a valley plain wedged between three-thousand-metre peaks. Over millennia, the Noce river has deposited limestone, porphyry and gneiss here. By day the rock walls reflect the sun; by night cool mountain air flows through the valley. Foradori farms 28 hectares under Demeter certification, 80 percent of it Teroldego.

Single-varietal Teroldego. Elisabetta Foradori took over the estate in 1984 and revived the nearly forgotten variety through years of mass selection of old clones, together with the University of Milan and the San Michele research centre. The estate has vinified the Granato since 1986. Because oak tended to overshadow the Teroldego, Foradori turned to Spanish clay amphorae, the tinajas, in which wine and skins breathe for eight months. Since 2013, her son Emilio has led the winemaking. 13.0% vol., dry.

On the nose, dark fruit: blackberry, elderberry and black cherry, together with dried plum, clove, black pepper and a touch of crushed juniper. The floral notes emerge only after some aeration. On the palate it's velvety and richly extracted, with aristocratic tannins and a finely integrated acidity. Here it shows why it's the undisputed king of Teroldego.

Teriyaki of braised pumpkin with spring leeks, shiitake and sesame, calamari with rice wine in black bean sauce and mushrooms, or beef Stroganoff with rice and beetroot salad.

The 1500 ml magnum format. The label carries the Demeter logo. The estate has been awarded the Gambero Rosso's top rating 36 times. Young, the Granato needs air and large glasses.