Manincor Lieben Aich Sauvignon Blanc 2015 / 2017
Type: White
Country: Italy
Region: Alto Adige
Grape Variety: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Viticulture: Biodynamic | Certified Organic
Rating: 92 Robert Parker Points (2015)
Climate: The Alps protect the area from cold air masses from the north filled with precipitation, while warm, moist air currents from Lake Garda and the Mediterranean find their way to Alto Adige
Terroir: The “Lieben Aich” site at Terlan, a south-west facing slope at an altitude of 300 m above sea level where the microclimate is mild and breezy and soils are porous with a high mineral content consisting of sand and clay mixed with eroded porphyry
Winemaking: The grapes were de-stemmed, after which the juice and solid parts (minus stalks) were left to macerate in the press for twelve hours in order to leech from the skins a maximum of aroma substances and extract. Fermentation was spontaneous and took place in oak using yeasts occurring naturally in the vineyard. The young wine was matured in oak barrels on fine lees for ten months to allow its aromas and flavour to develop
Color: Scintillating golden yellow
Nose: Aromas reminiscent of tropical fruits, mango, papaya and passion fruit
Palate: Full-bodied and mineral-like reminiscent of wet stones with juicy acidity finishing long with flinty notes. Complex with minerality and ripe fruit on the finish
About the Winery:
With 50 hectares of grape growing areas, the Manincor Estate Winery in Caldaro is one of the largest in all of Alto Adige. And also one with some of the richest traditions: grapes have been grown here for more than four hundred years, a tradition which Count Michael Goëss-Enzenberg continues – along new paths that are actuality old.
Count Goëss-Enzenberg, who is himself a trained oenologist, has focused on biodynamic cultivation in his estate winery since 2005, and that means: the revitalization of the soil with compost, special sowing of greenery, allowing chickens, sheep, and bees in the vineyard, and last but not least creating herbal teas with which the grapevines are treated. Chamomile helps the plants to overcome situations of stress, stinging nettle tea gives them energy and horsetail herb supports the healing of injuries.
But as old as the knowledge about cultivation is at the Manincor Estate Winery in Kaltern, that’s how modern the winery is, which was built underground three stories below the vineyards. In the end, the grapes from a half million vines are brought together here, and a total of fifteen different grape varieties are made into wine here. But in spite of the size, the work in the winery is still always worked by hand – with particular attention to small scale: “Also trying and doing our best possible work even down to the smallest detail is our path to the highest natural quality,” says Count Goëss-Enzenberg. Because, “For me, wine is the greatest sensory expression of agricultural culture.”
And at the Manincor Estate Winery in Caldaro, they know their way around with a focus on the senses, with passion, with authenticity, and with heart. For more than four hundred years. After all, a free translation of Manincor is “hand on heart”.
