Nusserhof "Elda" Schiava Alto Adige, 2016

85% Schiava/15% other. Known locally as Vernatsch, Schiava is a thin-skinned grape native to the Alto Adige and on the decline plantation-wise (about 200 ha. currently per Gloria Mayr). Nusserhof has a steep, certified-organic hillside plot of 90-year-old, pergola-planted Schiava vines on porphyry-rich volcanic soils a few kilometers from its home property in Bolzano. There are other vines mixed in, some identified as likely to be Lagrein and Merlot and the rest, both white and red, not identified at all. The fruit is manually harvested together, destemmed and co-fermented with natural yeasts in stainless steel tanks. Maceration lasts from 4-6 weeks. The wine is aged in 20-hectoliter French oak botti for about 20 months, bottled with a light filtration and aged up to 2 more years before release.

Named for vignaiolo Heinrich Mayr’s wife Elda, this Schiava is of a much more robustly tannic and joyfully aromatic character than is typical of the variety. The local Santa Magdalena DOC allows yields of up to 150 hl/ha, so the Mayrs opt out of it for this more structured and complex 30hl/ha beauty. “Elda” is classified as a Vino Rosso and thus cannot indicate grape or vintage on the label (a lot number discreetly indicates vintage).