Battle of the Rosés - My Pick: Alois Lageder Lagrein Rosé

May the Battle of the Rosés commence!

Earlier this month, Hannah aka The British Bouchon approached a bunch of wine people and myself with the idea of going into battle armed with our rosé recommendations for the Bank Holiday weekend. As it’s set to be a scorcher, there is no doubt that it is bound to be awash with varying shades of pink. We do love a bit of rosé with our t-shirt tans, don’t we?

I thought long and hard about the kind of rosé I wanted to champion. I like different rosés for different occasions: I like them dry, but then again, a medium-dry Portuguese rosé has its place, especially on a frivolous summer evening with friends; I like them soft and fruity, but then, I like them herbaceous and savoury, paired with dinner; I like them delicately pale, but some possessing shockingly vibrant shades have rocked my world before now.

I’ve heard that many rosé producers around the world have altered the way they make their wines, so that they are more in-line with the pale style of Provence - the most fashionable hue there ever was to grace our balloon glasses. I think it’s a shame, as many are moving away from their traditional styles of rosé, just to satisfy this consumer demand, which is largely based on the misguided assumption that paler rosés are dry and deeper rosés are sweet.

As my weapon of choice, I wanted to find a traditionally dark rosé that would be dry. I care about low-intervention winemaking in order to be sustainable for the future, so I get excited about wineries who employ traditional, kind-to-nature techniques, mixed with cutting-edge technology - that is the sweet spot, right there! So, I struck gold in my local Wine Rack, by finding Langrein Rosé 2018. 

This wine is from the Alois Lageder winery in the Alto Adige region of northeastern Italy. With an alpine landscape that is shared with its neighbours Austria and Switzerland, of craggy peaks and turquoise lakes, Alto Adige is a stunning part of the world and one of Italy’s smallest wine regions. The family-run winery is composed of 55 hectares of vines, which are managed on the basis of biodynamic principles.

Alois Lageder are all about preserving the region’s classical grape varietals and creating wines with a strong character, which reflect the diversity of the region. My rosé is made from 100% Lagrein, a local grape that is descended from Teroldego and related to Syrah, Pinot Noir and Dureza. Good genes, hey! There is a tradition of producing Lagrein Rosé in Alto Adige and Alois Lageder aim to honour this tradition and put a modern spin on it. It’s also known as Lagrein ‘Kretzer’, deriving from an old German word for a large strainer that was used to drain off the grape juice. The skins of the berries are so rich in colour and tannins, that the grapes should only be gently pressed to maintain a light rosé colour.

I use the word ‘light’ lightly here, as yes, this is a rosé and not a red wine, but it is a much deeper colour than what we are used to seeing around at the moment. But it’s a really glorious, arresting shade of cherry, rather than a pink, which shimmers beautifully in the glass.

Coinciding with the colour, you get a hit of red cherry on the nose, which is so ripe it’s verging on cherry-flavoured boiled sweets. But don’t be put off, there’s more to it than that. There’s a herbal layer; fresh mint and thyme. I get spikes of echinacea too, as well as red plums and cranberries.

The palate is a surprise of freshness. The grape has a naturally high acidity, so the effect is refreshing and moreish. The cherry fruit doesn’t overpower the dryness and, in fact, it has a pleasant savoury edge. The finish is long and mineral, opening up a world of possibility for food pairings. The Lagrein grape is highly tannic, and though the grapes were lightly pressed for this rosé, as to not release them too much, you do get a little grippiness, which is nice. This wine is so much more robust than it would at first appear and, although I would still serve it chilled, it does open up and I keep discovering more.

In the Battle of the Rosés, this wine is a fantastic contender. Everything about it is fresh and contemporary, but it has its roots in age-old tradition. Which I like a lot. Like its home, Alto Adige, it is multi-faceted and diverse: it could be a sunshine wine, to be drained steadily with no accompaniments at all apart from the radio, or as a companion to lunch or dinner, as structured as it is. I’d like it with anchovies and capers in a pasta or on a toasted ciabatta. Most importantly, it is delicious and highly quaffable for the Bank Holiday weekend and all other weekends, including weeknights. Go for it - break out from the pale pink and get yourself some cherry red Lagrein.

Find out more about Alois Lageder here.