Today’s wine has few (if any) peers, and it’s made from a grape which, despite its proven nobility, isn’t widely dispersed. But that doesn’t detract from its greatness: It just makes it much less expensive than it might otherwise be.
Teroldego Rotaliano, so named for its home on the gravelly plains of Italy’s Trentino region, is that grape—and Elisabetta Foradori its foremost interpreter. If this is all news to you, and if today’s 2016 “Granato” is your first-ever taste of Teroldego, be advised that this is the epitome of “starting at the top.” But why not? Life is short—no reason to dither when you can get right to the heart of the matter. Yes, the Teroldego grape is planted elsewhere in the world, but it still belongs firstly to the area around Mezzacorona and Mezzolombardo, two towns on Trentino’s Campo Rotaliano—part of the alluvial fan of the Adige River. There isn’t even a critical mass of great Teroldego wine in Trentino to provide an analog to “Granato.” It still stands nearly alone at the top. Grown biodynamically and presented without any unnecessary adornments, this ink-dark red is dense yet nimble, floral yet feral, and in no way outclassed by better-known ‘noble’ reds like Syrah or Pinot Noir. Given its genetic relation to both, how could it be?
That’s right: Teroldego may be concentrated mostly in Trentino, but
DNA sequencing has shown it to be a direct sibling of Dureza, one of the ‘parent’ grapes of Syrah; it’s also been shown that Dureza (and therefore Teroldego) is descended from Pinot Noir. It always seems necessary to place less-familiar grapes such as Teroldego in a French context, and in this case, the ready comparison is to Côte-Rôtie: The color, the aromatics, and the energy of “Granato” all give a nod to the Northern Rhône. Teroldego and its more local genetic cousin, Lagrein, are both “Alpine” varieties, with beautiful mountain herb notes and lots of nerve, but they can also get quite substantial on the mid-palate—the gravelly soils and warm summer temperatures on the Trentino-Alto Adige plains are quite similar to those of Bordeaux, and in addition to the resurgent local varieties, the “Bordeaux” grapes are planted here in abundance.
For Elisabetta Foradori, however, international acclaim has come via “Granato” and her other Teroldego bottlings. She is a beloved figure in the Italian wine world, having truly grown up in the vineyards: She took over her family estate in her early teens after the untimely passing of her father, and has since grown into the wise, warm Earth Mother of Trentino. At one time, “Granato” was made in a more ‘international’ style, including aging in new French oak barriques, but over the last decade-plus Elisabetta has pushed the estate in a resolutely natural direction. Her farming is certified biodynamic. Her work in the cellar is minimalist and she now vinifies several wines in custom-made clay amphorae. Only native yeasts are used in fermentation and sulfur additions are kept to an absolute minimum. It all shows in today’s ’16, which is still well-concentrated but has a much more nervy, well-toned quality to it than the chunkier Granatos of yore.
Today’s 2016 (the 20th-anniversary vintage) was sourced from a four-hectare parcel containing Foradori’s oldest Teroldego vines. It was vinified and aged about 18 months in large, used oak foudres, and its name, granato, is meant to evoke the purple-tinted garnet color of pomegranates, which it displays in the glass. Its aromas are a fascinating and inviting mix of red and black fruits, including wild blackberries, cranberries, and yes, pomegranates, mixed with lots of mountain-herb notes, dark soil, tar, licorice, and a hint of camphor. Despite its inky appearance, it is not a monolith—more medium-plus in body, with freshness more so than tannin the thing that will preserve it for 20-plus years. Yes, it’s a slam-dunk wine for the cellar, but it is balanced and approachable when young; just give it an hour or so in a decanter and serve in Bordeaux stems at 60-65 degrees. The wine’s mixture of luxurious, tongue-staining fruit and mineral twang is infectious: Pair it with a summertime grigliata mista (mixed grill) sprinkled with herbs and a squeeze of lemon, and celebrate one of Italy’s greatest unsung reds.
