Elisabetta Foradori’s “Granato” is one of the rare wonders of the world, but not in the sense that one may think: It basks in relative obscurity and doesn’t find itself on the bucket list of millions like the Roman Colosseum, the Taj Mahal, or the Great Wall of China. However, ask any esoteric collector or (literally any) sommelier and they’ll tell you it evokes the same sort of heart-racing, awe-inspiring, visceral reaction as those colossal wonders. Those who make an effort to seek out a prized bottle of “Granato” are always rewarded with a dark-fruited, muscular, deeply fulfilling wine experience like no other—and today’s 2017 release amplifies that tenfold.
It’s no accident that it has quickly become one of northern Italy’s most unanimously revered and critically acclaimed reds. Really, I can think of only a handful of producers/wines that define an entire region, variety, and style in this same way as “Granato”—and those that do have long saturated the market to the point where prices are unrealistically high and exposure is ubiquitous. Thankfully, “Granato” still lurks in the global shadows while simultaneously existing as the gold standard for elite, cellar-worthy reds. Those of you who’ve had the rare opportunity to taste a bottle of this royal liquid know what I’m talking about—it’s impossible not to fall deeply in love with Foradori and her inimitable, top-tier Teroldego. This competes with the triple-digit, blue-chip new releases of any region: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Northern Rhône, Barolo, Rioja, you name it. Granato is the genuine article, and very limited quantities exist. Up to six per person.
Elisabetta Foradori grew up in the tiny, 2,000-person village of Mezzolombardo in the Dolomites, about 45 minutes south of the Austrian border in the Italian region of Trentino. Elisabetta’s father, a cooperative grape farmer, passed away when she was in middle school, leaving her to tend the vines. In her teens, she left high school and enrolled in an enology program. By age 19, she was supervising all aspects of harvest and production at Foradori. Over the next decade, Elisabetta transitioned the operations from bulk wine and grape sales to biodynamic farming and estate-bottling.
In an era when this region was rapidly becoming overrun with the industrial production of cheap Pinot Grigio and Merlot, Elisabetta defiantly persisted with the same indigenous grape variety her father and grandfather farmed: Teroldego (DNA sequencing has shown it to be a direct sibling of Dureza, one of the ‘parent’ grapes of Syrah, and that Dureza is descended from Pinot Noir). By the mid-1990s, Elisabetta—still in her early 30's—had become the world-renowned, public face of winemaking in the Dolomites, earning an array of top honors from international wine writers and critics. Twenty years later, Elisabetta’s wines remain some of the most soulful and sought-after in all of Italy. Today, we are featuring “Granato,” her top-of-the-line Teroldego from vines that are 60+ years old.
Her naturally farmed, hand-harvested fruit retains roughly 50% of its cluster throughout a gentle pressing and an ambient-yeast fermentation in large wooden vats known as tini. The resulting wine is then transferred to old, massive botti for 15-18 months. After bottling without filtration, it ages another year before the public can lay eyes on it. This batch just arrived on our shores!
Those of you who’ve experienced the inimitable balance of thunderous, dark-fruited power and laser-like precision of Granato will be absolutely floored by this 2017. There’s so much mineral power and muscular dark cherry/currant fruit; this wine’s complex structure and precision feel like they have been delicately cut and polished by a skilled lapidarist. It quickly fills your mouth with a rush of dense first fruit that appears to have pulled directly from crushed gravel and then a second wave releases iron, fresh soil, dried herbs, leather, licorice, and a heaping of delicate exotic spice. It’s elegant and nuanced all the way despite delivering a full-bodied and unapologetically brawny experience. In other words, this is powerful, heavenly stuff that holds the pedigree and panache of Grand Crus and First Growths. What’s more, I’ve enjoyed many older bottles of “Granato” throughout my career and can promise that this 2017 vintage will only improve for another 10-15+ years. In the meantime, decant it for two hours and serve in large Bordeaux stems at 60-65 degrees. Cheers!
