Mason di Mason DOC 2019 1500ml Magnum

Medium, lightly saturated cherry red with distinct lightening towards the rim. The nose remains bright and finely drawn: sour cherry, redcurrant, young plum and raspberry jam, alongside a fine note of cedarwood, a hint of cinnamon and milky coffee. Maturity and youthful playfulness sit closely side by side here.

The grapes grow in Mazzon, which Manincor calls Mason to avoid confusion with the larger site above Neumarkt. Four hectares of Pinot Nero stand on a south-facing high plateau between 400 and 450 metres, bathed in sun and constantly exposed to wind. This produces tight-berried clusters. The soil is sandy loam, threaded through with dolomite, porphyry, gneiss and granite, ranging from fine grains to fist-sized stones.

Each batch from the individual parcels was pressed separately, with must fermentation proceeding spontaneously using the grapes' own native yeasts. Maceration lasted two weeks, with the cap of skins submerged once a day. This was followed by 16 months in barrique with only 20% new oak, the entire time on fine lees. Only at the end were the parcels blended, and for the Mason di Mason, the best barrels from the highest-lying parcel with the oldest vines were selected.

Lively and taut, dry at 14.0% vol. The wine is still at a young stage where by no means everything has yet been revealed, and it draws its tension precisely from that.

A red wine for vegetables and fish: Jerusalem artichoke salad with cranberries or grilled sea bream with beetroot, olive oil and rosemary. With meat, try strips of beef fillet with wild herb salad, raspberries and raspberry vinegar.

Michael Graf Goëss-Enzenberg has run Manincor since 1991, and the estate has been farmed biodynamically since 2005. The red wines ferment one hundred percent spontaneously. Bottled in a 1500 ml magnum.