Parentage — An Alto Adige native, an offspring of Teroldego
dark cherry
plum
violet
bitter chocolate
black pepper
Budbreak
Early
Maturity
Late; ripe tannins need warm sites
Leaf
Medium-large, pentagonal, five lobes; dark green
Bunch
Large, long, cylindrical, winged
Berry
Medium, oval, blue-black; deeply coloured
Around the city of Bolzano, where German and Italian meet, Lagrein makes a deeply coloured, velvety red of dark cherry and violet, finished with a faint, appealing bitterness that is the grape's fingerprint. A child of Teroldego and a native of the warm valley floor, it has been grown here since at least the Middle Ages.
Modern winemaking has smoothed its once-rustic tannins into something plush and ageworthy, and it also gives a vivid, salmon-pink rosé called Lagrein Kretzer. It is the red heart of Alto Adige, a region far better known for its crystalline whites.
In the blend
Share of this grape in a typical blend of each wine