We sell a lot of red Bordeaux here on SommSelect, and it’s easy to see why: Bordeaux is a revered name, with boatloads of wines in the under-$30 range that over-deliver in dramatic fashion. Today’s wine is not from Bordeaux, but it resembles one, and over-performs like one, and comes from a strikingly similar terroir.
No, the Trentino region of Italy is not a coastal estuary like Bordeaux—it’s a mountainous river valley in the Dolomites—but the soils of Trentino’s Campo Rotaliano are the same river-borne mix of gravel, sand, and clay. The climates are similar, too, and in both Trentino and neighboring Alto Adige (named for the Adige river, which runs through both), wine producers have long grown and sold the so-called “Bordeaux” varieties with great success. But now the indigenous varieties are having a moment, and Teroldego, in my opinion, is emerging as the most noble of them all. By “noble,” I mean “capable of producing world-class wine,” which we’ve seen repeatedly from producers such as Foradori and are getting today in this modestly priced 2016 from DeVescovi Ulzbach. This is a sleek and soulful beauty that offers a stylistic tip of the hat to the Left Bank before sauntering off in its own direction. It’s both familiar and unexpected, and like so many of the Bordeaux we offer here, it’s an absolute steal at this price!
And if that isn’t enough for you, well, just look at
where this wine is made and you’ll not only want to drink some, you’ll want to go there to do so. I can attest to the striking natural beauty of the Trentino and Alto Adige regions: The Adige River cuts a wide, fast-moving swath down the middle, with the rock walls of the Dolomites rising on either side. It is lushly green and sparsely populated, with church steeples marking the hearts of the villages scattered among the vineyards and orchards. Although it is an Alpine locale, it gets plenty warm here in the daytime during the growing season, particularly on the valley floor where the Teroldego grape is grown. The term ‘Campo Rotaliano,’ or ‘Piana Rotaliana’ refers to a gently sloping, gravel-strewn flood plain where the Adige meets a smaller tributary called the Noce, surrounding the towns of Mezzocorona and Mezzolombardo. Although there are scattered plantings of Teroldego elsewhere, it is, like so many of Italy’s myriad native grapes, unique to this single, confined place. It effectively belongs to Trentino alone.
The De Vescovi family has farmed wine grapes and apples in Trentino since the 1600s, wines bearing their name on the label only started appearing in the early 2000s. Present-day proprietor/winemaker Giulio De Vescovi, who attended enology school at the region’s acclaimed Istituto San Michele all’Adige, has been a dynamic addition to the local wine scene, farming about seven hectares organically and focusing exclusively (for the moment anyway) on Teroldego. Today’s 2016 is comprised of 100% hand-harvested Teroldego that was completely destemmed before fermentation, but De Vescovi left about half the berries whole. Fermentation and maceration were carried out in a combination of wood and concrete vats, over the course of 40+ days, followed by aging in a mix of concrete and larger-sized (25-40 hectoliter) French oak casks.
But lest you think that, given the length of maceration, this is a hugely tannic wine, think again: There’s structure, yes, but the tannins are fine and the wine seductively smooth. Teroldego is characterized by its opaque purple/ruby color (it has been genetically linked to both Syrah and Pinot Noir), and here it is satisfyingly deep, with lots of violet/magenta at the rim. The aromas will take you to Bordeaux, the northern Rhône, and beyond—it’s a heady mix of blackberry, cassis, black and red currant, violets, black pepper, wild herbs, damp soil, and a hint of coffee grounds. It is rich and lushly textured but also buoyed by a snap of freshness; to look at it, and to savor it on the mid-palate, it feels like dark and chunky, but it finishes almost weightlessly, with a long, floral/lavender aftermath. Decant this for 30 minutes and enjoy it now and over the next few years in large Bordeaux stems at 60-65 degrees. It is delicious, silky, seamless in its melding of fruit and earth, and ready for some beef or lamb off the grill. I’m going to go with the latter, to highlight its Rhône-ish leanings, albeit in an Italian preparation, of course. Do yourself a favor and check this stuff out!
