Anyone remember Julie Andrews twirling and singing in a mountain meadow during “The Sound of Music”? That’s the way you feel when you take a sip of St. Magdalener. If the reference escapes you, let’s put it in wine terms: This is a silky, juicy, slightly spicy red from Italy’s Dolomites, a classic regional wine as interpreted by one of the region’s best modern producers. Franz Gojer is indeed one of the most respected winemakers in the Alto Adige, or Südtirol—the German-speaking province that was once part of Austria—and St. Magdalener is a calling-card wine. Crafted from the local grapes Schiava and Lagrein, St. Magdalener is the kind of wine you find on the “Interesting Reds” section of the wine list—the kind of wine a sommelier would order when dining out—and this is a best-in-class example.
Walled in by the Alps and Dolomites, the Adige River valley is a broad, sun-drenched basin that receives a daily blast of warm air coming off Lake Garda to the south. Soils closest to the river are gravel and sand (which inspired many producers to plant ‘Bordeaux’ varieties), becoming rockier and more morainic (i.e. left by the retreat of glaciers) as you climb upward.
Gojer's estate, called Glögglhof, is right in the middle of the St. Magdalena hill, a perfect amphitheater northeast of Bolzano. This hillside is known for its morainic soils, which are rich in minerals like quartz and porphyry, and some of Gojer’s vineyard parcels date to the 1970s. In a region known for its abundance of winemaking cooperatives, Gojer is one of regions's best independent producers: He’s well-known for concentrated, complex reds from Lagrein variety, but this single-vineyard St. Magdalener is also a “destination” wine.
“Vigna Rondell” (a site the Gojers have showcased in a vineyard-designate bottling for generations) is crafted from 95% Schiava (a.k.a. Vernatsch) and 5% Lagrein, the latter adding a dash of dark color and fruit. Grapes are macerated for roughly 12 days during primary fermentation In stainless steel, after which the finished wine is aged in a combination of steel tanks and large, used barrels for eight months.
This ’22 is a fascinating, somewhat confounding, exceedingly lovable and delicious red wine. In the glass, it shines a deep, reflective ruby moving to a pink/magenta rim, with some blue/black fruit notes from the Lagrein lending a bass note to an otherwise bright, spicy mix of raspberry, wild strawberry, plum, underbrush, violet, a touch of mint, bitter chocolate, and leather. Tannins are fine but firm and the acidity is fresh but not piercing: it lands gently on the palate and finishes with a slightly peppery, savory flourish. Serve it slightly chilled in Burgundy glass and pair with cured meats (especially bresaola, a Südtirol specialty) and hard cheeses. If this is your first taste of Schiava (we hope not), we guarantee it won’t be your last!
