Abbazia di Novacella (Stiftskellerei Neustift) Lagrein

My first lagrein. big animalistic nose, not so much barnyard, more like the smell of cleaning wild game… Very interesting. On the palate this wine is very big and coating in mouthfeel but is surprisingly soft in structure. Not a huge amount of either tannin or acid. Flavor profile is very savory, black olives, stewed tomatoes but also a sour cherry note coming through at the tail end. This wine speaks to a lot of things that I look for …

Purplish mauve. On the nose, it's unfortunately rather anonymous-red-wine smelling. Somewhat reductive at first, and then with quite a bit of swirling and time in the glass, some faint berry fruit, dried flowers, and leather grudgingly emerge. Light weight on the palate, with juicy red berry fruit leading the way. A touch of mineral and a slight gaminess show up on the finish, which is crisp and easy with light tannin. It's better in the mouth than on the nose, …