The name Alois Lageder was already a guarantee for quality at a time when South Tyrol looked rather bleak in this respect. What came out of this house was always clearly different from other South Tyrolean wines. This exceptional position was reinforced in the 1980s when the "Löwengang" wines (Chardonnay and Cabernet) came onto the market. From then on, the name Alois Lageder stood for top qualities from South Tyrol that could be measured by international standards.
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| Can be very satisfied with the treasures from his cellar: Luis von Dellemann (Source: Roland Brunner) |
The style of Lageder wines can probably best be described as tradition-conscious innovation. Looking beyond South Tyrol to California and Bordeaux (Alois Lageder has a long friendship with Robert Mondavi) has not led to style- and home-less wine caricatures, but to independent, high-quality South Tyrolean growths. This is personified in the person of Luis von Dellemann. He joined the winery in 1969 through his marriage to Wendelgard LLageder Alois Lageder's sister, and has been mainly responsible for production ever since. Luis von Dellemann is a true South Tyrolean native, deeply rooted in his homeland and at the same time cosmopolitan. He knows the great wines of the world, he knows every square centimetre of his South Tyrolean soils, and he knows how to produce wines on these soils that are in no way inferior to the great growths of this world.
Since the beginning of the 1990s, his entire vineyard estate of over 50 hectares has been cultivated using biodynamic methods.
Here are some impressions of the top red wines from Lageder:
2003 Cabernet Löwengang
88 Ripe, partly candied black berries and cherries as well as fine wood spice in the nose, in addition cedary notes and a rather noble trace of stewed fruit. Clear, again very slightly compote fruit in the mouth, fine tannin, melting on the palate, notes of pickled peppers, some roast and dark chocolate, a hint of tobacco, not eternally deep but harmonious, very good finish. Until 2020+.
2000 Cabernet Löwengang
88 Slightly spicy and somewhat paprika-like vegetal nose of black and red berries with slightly smoky and earthy nuances. Clear, rather cool fruit in the mouth, pepper notes and earthy tones, some smoke and toast, quite fine, a touch drying tannin, leafy-tobacco tones, persistent, very good finish. Through 2018+.
1999 Cabernet Löwengang
87 Clear, straightforward aroma of cassis and some cherries with floral nuances. Fine-juicy and again straightforward in the mouth, perhaps a little green, but harmonious and polished, moderate wood, fine tannin, salty nuances, still gaining juice and persistence with air, earthy notes, good to very good finish. Through 2017+.
1997 Cabernet Löwengang
92 Deep and with air more and more complex aroma of cassis, peppers, liquorice, tobacco and very ripe cherries as well as a hint of tar. Dense, tart and yet juicy in the mouth, ripe black fruit, pepper notes and earthy tones, present, firm, still a touch dry tannin, vegetal hints and certain minerality, good depth, delicate cocoa notes in the very good finish. Until 2025+.
1995 Cabernet Löwengang
89 Cool, somewhat toasty aroma of peppers and cassis with a hint of red berries, some lovage and lots of tobacco. Quite compact berry fruit with vegetal flavours in the mouth, peppers, slightly sandy tannin, some bitter chocolate, soup herbs and tobacco, has power and good depth, firm construction, very good finish. Through 2018+.
1992 Cabernet Löwengang
90 Complex, yet detached, smoky and cedary aroma of stewed and pickled peppers, cherries and black berries with subtle earthy notes and some dark chocolate. Clear and polished, fine juicy fruit in the mouth, slightly smoky and toasty wood tones, paprika and dark chocolate in the background, not eternally concentrated but persistent, very slightly drying tannin, long finish. Until 2015+.
2004 Casòn Hirschprunn
87 Clear, polished and cool, also a little acidic nose of mixed berries and cherries with delicate balsamic notes and some lovage. Also in the mouth a bit acidic, yet polished fruit, fine, quite present tannin, vegetal nuances, medium power and a hint of warmth, not eternally deep and complex, but has traction and bite, very good finish. Through 2018+.
2002 Casòn Hirschprunn
88 Very slightly hazy at first, but with air much tighter, straightforward aroma of mixed berries, especially cassis with a hint of dark chocolate and herbal tones. Relatively dark, partly preserved fruit with nutty and bitter chocolate wood notes and slightly drying tannins, slightly warm on the palate, has power, good to very good finish. Puts on weight with air. Through 2018+.
1997 Casòn Hirschprunn
92 Complex, tart aroma of cassis and other black berries with distinctly tobacco and slightly oily notes, vegetal hints, cherries, a little bacon and mineral tones, and with air also red berries. Juicy and dense in the mouth, ripe fruit with notes of tobacco and peppers, fine dusty tannin, some bitter chocolate and earthy hints, firm and persistent, good depth, again mineral tones, very good finish. Until 2020+.
Promotion:
2004 MCM Merlot
93 Quite compact bouquet of mixed berries, especially mulberries, then some pepper, olives and clear mineral tones. Tightly knit, ripe, dry fruit in the mouth, moderate wood spice and still slightly drying tannin, has power and fullness but also cool notes, vegetal nuances, candied herbs and lots of minerality on the palate, balsamic tones, excellent depth, only seems to be in an intermediate phase at the moment, very good to long finish. Still needs to mature. 2015-2025+.
2000 MCM Merlot
86 Slightly mature, somewhat peppery, green-vegetable and reminiscent of mixed pickles with aromas of preserved mixed berries and a hint of chocolate. Soft fruit in the mouth, quite distinct roast, peppers and bitter chocolate on the palate, medium-fine tannin, lots of pepper, not too deep, good finish. Through 2016+.
1999 MCM Merlot
89 Tobacco, small dark berries and with air clearly mulberries in the nose, plus notes of white cabbage and butter, a hint of olives and herbs. Mulberries also in the mouth, plus plums, vegetal aromas and earthy tones, crumbly tannins, some cedar, some persistence, perhaps not the great depth, but power and substance, also increases with air, very good finish. Until 2017+.
1995 MCM Merlot
92 Aroma of mulberries, blueberries and some plums with spicy wood notes, leather, a touch of butter, some dried berries and floral nuances. Clear, dense, ripe and juicy in the mouth, melting fruit with notes of candied peppers, fine, delicately sandy tannin, persistent, powerful but also polished and with cool notes, complex spiciness, very good to long finish. Until 2020+.
2004 COR Römigberg
94 Fleshy bouquet of dark berries, some tobacco, cedar and a little grapefruit with hints of laurel, thyme and juniper as well as earthy minerality. Dense, firm and at the same time polished in the mouth, yet seems rather closed, present, very fine tannins, delicate acidity, power and substance on the palate, chocolatey hints, earthy minerality, excellent depth, long finish. Has time. 2016-2030+.
2000 COR Römigberg
89 Stimulating aroma of preserved cherries and damsons and cassis with vegetal and cool earthy notes, a touch of butter, dark caramel, lovage and bay leaf. A little chocolaty-woody in the mouth, toasty notes, cooked down ripe fruit, some malt and notes of candied soup herbs, some alcohol warmth, persistent, medium depth, very good finish. Through 2018+.
1995 COR Römigberg
93 Aroma of blackcurrants, sauced gingerbread, lovage and distinctly paprika with dark roasty and tobacco notes, cedar, mineral tones, some rock candy, pepper and liquorice. Dense, highly ripe black fruit in the mouth, tobacco and dark chocolate, roasted peppers and eucalyptus, very firm and immensely powerful on the palate, very tightly woven, deep, persistent and long. Until 2022+.
1994 COR Römigberg
89 Slightly exotic-floral scent of dried herbs, tobacco, grilled peppers, cassis and some cherries with mineral tones. Tart fruit in the mouth, cedary, earthy and woody tones, a trace of cheese rind, predominantly crumbly, only very slightly drying tannin, melting on the palate, lasting, very good finish. Until 2017+.