Rock the Glass with Voglar Dipoli Sauvignon Alto Adige 2017
The 2017 vintage in Alto Adige was a semi-tragedy between hail, frost, and endless rain; however, what was saved was not bad at all. At the end of summer, the sun came out and saved the whole year’s work.
Anyway, there is a strange stillness, a subtle tension that vibrates under the skin, in the South Tyrolean white wines of this strange vintage, and the Voglar Dipoli Sauvignon Alto Adige 2017 is its most striking representative.
It is always a sinewy and rocky wine, sculpted and bristly due to the verdant notes, and aged in wood that has left a heavy mark, but we are not talking about a rigid wine.
It doesn’t have the usual intensity; instead, it’s softer and easier to drink, even though the sourness is always celestial and the varietal is always drawn with ruthless clarity.
It is not the usual white wine, flowers, and cat urine shot with an atomizer; it goes beyond the usual green tightrope walker style of pyrazines. On the contrary, it finds a good balance and knows how to make itself loved thanks to a marked fruity boost and a fluid and enveloping aromatic charge.
How it is produced
The grapes come from the same 3-hectare vineyard, which offers a spectacular view. Height between 500 and 600 meters above sea level, calcareous soils, and a maximum density of 7,500 vines
The grapes were picked in late September, fermented in large acacia barrels, and rested sur lie until May.
Organoleptic characteristics
Cataract in a straw yellow.
Melodic bouquet of floral scents, rocks, hay, ferns, and aromatic herbs.
It looks like a flower pasture.
Haidi and related sheep would be proud.
The fruit is pulpy and tastes of citron.
The boxwood is there and struggles strenuously against waves of woody and vanilla attackers.
It has an epic dimension in its attempt to faithfully resist the model imposed by the cellar since the 1990s, even if it is certainly not static or banal.
On the palate, it’s a squeeze of rock and oyster puree with mango and a touch of ginger. It has pepper and a supple structure. It moves with a tonic mineral boost and a gorgeous lemony return.
It’s still young and woody, but it already knows its stuff.
Although it is best aged for ten years, it is now delicious if paired with creamy and Baroque-style fish dishes.
Price
24–25 euros is a fair price to pay for a wine that isn’t as impressive for the quality of the grapes as it is for the depth and skill of the winemaker, who stays true to a popular idea.
Pairings
Fish and chips, fish tacos, octopus salad, baked fish, Parmigiana ravioli, spaghetti with clams, chicken tikka masala, Chicken Cacciatore, Vitello Tonnato, truffle risotto, pasta alla carbonara.
