Rubatsch DOC 2022

This Lagrein draws its power from tannin rather than alcohol: 12.5% vol., dry, tannin-rich and juicy-firm. In the glass it shows purple-red with violet highlights and a black, opaque core.

Two thirds of the grapes grow in the Rubatsch vineyard in Terlan, a southwest-facing slope at 250 m above sea level with sandy soil over weathered porphyry; this portion lends finesse and elegance. The remaining third comes from the Seehof vineyard in Kaltern, also at 250 m, with a lake view and a subsoil of loamy limestone gravel, which gives the wine power and structure. Michael Graf Goëss-Enzenberg took over Manincor in 1991 and has run the estate biodynamically since 2005, together with estate director Helmuth Zozin.

Single-varietal Lagrein. The grapes ferment spontaneously with their own yeasts on the skins in wooden vats; the cap is punched down daily during the two-week maceration to gently extract colour and tannins. After 16 months in barrique, a fifth of it new oak, the wine is fined and bottled unfiltered.

The nose stays well defined: black cherries, mulberries and raspberries, joined by elderberry and pomegranate, mild spices and espresso crema, topped by the distinctive spice of black walnuts, hollyhock and allspice. The entry is distinctly austere, the tannin grainy, with fine dark chocolate framing the vivid fruit. Ripe acidity works from the background, while ageing in wood tames the grape's tannins.

The cellar is built into the slope and uses gravity instead of pumps, with the cool rock keeping temperatures constant. The red wines ferment one hundred percent spontaneously. The estate in Kaltern also keeps chickens, sheep and bees, and herbal teas replace synthetic sprays.