Wine Enthusiast 94:
This is a screamingly good deal, offering both hedonistic pleasure and complexity through a blend of 41% Syrah, 35% Petite Sirah, 12% Grenache and 12% Tannat. Aromas of roasted cherry, smoked meat and cola spice lead into a hearty palate of black currant, roasted game and licorice. It's balanced by bright acidity, making for a sip that will satisfy many.Northeastern Italy is widely seen as white wine country. From the fertile plains of coastal Venezie to the alpine peaks of Alto Adige, the zone is best known to Americans for its refreshing pinot grigios and piquant proseccos. However, every region of Italy makes red wines, even those snuggled up along its northern border with Austria, in a region known in English as the South Tyrol and in Italian as the Alto Adige, for the upper reaches of the Adige River valley. There is little flat land here for agriculture, and vineyards dot the lower flanks of ski-worthy slopes. Though many vintners have grown French grapes there for centuries, like pinot noir and merlot, there are a handful of unusual red grapes native to the region that are well worth exploring, too. Descendants of pinot noir, they have obscure names, like teroldego rotaliano, lagrein, marzemino, and refosco dal penuncolo rosso. What makes them so exciting for adventurous wine drinkers is that, like pinot noir, they make lighter red wines that are quite flexible with food but with deeper color and less aggressive astringency. It's rare to find them at affordable prices [true: the next cheapest 2014 Teroldego in the US is $30, with a suggested retail of $50, and scores the same as this], but this teroldego/lagrein blend from the Dolomites makes a great introduction: dry and midweight, packed with sappy sour cherry and blueberry flavors.
