Every year, the ‘Gambero Rosso’s jury tastes over 50,000 wines from all regions of Italy. The finest are honored with the highest award ‘tre bicchieri’ (three glasses). The best wine of the year is then selected from the award-winning wines in 6 different categories (white wine, red wine, rosé, etc.). This year the new Sauvignon Riserva Gran Lafóa from Cantina Colterenzio won this prestigious title in the white wine category.
“The joy is immense,” explains excited Maximilian Niedermayr, chairman of the winery. “The ‘Gambero Rosso’ is considered the wine bible of Italy and the fact that it appointed our Sauvignon Riserva Gran Lafóa as White Wine of the Year fills us with incredible pride. I would also like to mention that this wine was produced for the first time in the 2021 vintage and will not be released on the market until mid-November 2024. So, it's a real rising star” says Niedermayr smiling.
The Sauvignon Riserva Gran Lafóa is a tribute to the history of the quality research carried out by Colterenzio Winery, and always associated with the name Lafóa. This collection of wines was born in the late 1980s and at the time represented a pioneering quality project for Alto Adige wine production. Today, this ensemble includes five highly successful wines. The new Gran Lafóa will represent the most precious jewel in the crown.
Martin Lemayr, winemaker of Cantina Colterenzio, explains how this wine has been created: “The grapes come from a vineyard planted in the late 1980s with Sauvignon blanc clones from France. Only these oldest parcels were used for the Gran Lafóa. In the winemaking process, we have looked to the past, but with the know-how and the technology of today. The wine matures in various stages and in several different barrels/tanks before being launched on the market three years after the harvest’. Lemayr also reveals what wine lovers can expect: ‘It is a complex wine with intense ripe fruit flavors and refined roasted notes. Minerality and fruit are extremely well balanced. All in all, this is a wine that has the unmistakable, signature of ‘Colterenzio’: the impressive elegance, achieved through a perfect balance of structure and freshness.”
The packaging was also inspired by the historic Lafóa label, explains Alex Ferrigato, Sales Director of the winery: “In the centre of the label you can see the iconic Lafóa statue crafted in the mansion overlooking the historic Lafóa vineyard. It has been a crucial point for us that everyone holding this bottle in their hands could immediately associate the connection to Lafóa, therefore to its outstanding wine quality.”
The Sauvignon Riserva Gran Lafóa will be available from mid-November in a strictly limited edition of 4,085 bottles.
