Wine Cantina Andrian, “Gant” Merlot, Alto Adige DOC, 2009

Description

“Gant” Merlot is an Italian red wine from the Alto Adige region, which is distinguished by a strong aroma with fruity notes. The vineyards where Merlot is grown for the production of this wine are located at an altitude of 250-300 meters above sea level and are laid out on sandy loam soil. The vinification process is carried out according to the traditional method for red wines. First, the must is fermented in stainless steel tanks, and then carefully poured into large oak barrels, where it undergoes malolactic fermentation and aging for 6 months.

In 2008, the wineries “Cantina Terlano” and “Cantina Andrian” entered into an alliance for further development. Cantina Andrian has preserved its enormous potential of vineyards, as well as historical achievements, such as the wine from the grape variety Lagrein, which was one of the first wines aged here in barriques. Today, “Cantina Andrian” can be proud of its individuality and quality. The winery draws its unique success from the terroir and the carefully selected grape varieties for it.

The history of the Cantina Terlano cooperative began more than 100 years ago with the unification of 24 wine producers to jointly combat the phylloxera invasion. Today, the cooperative has about 100 producers, the total area of the Terlano vineyards is 150 hectares, and 1.2 million bottles of wine are produced annually.
The vineyards of the members of the Cantina Terlano cooperative are located in the foothills of the Chogelberg range, at an altitude of between 250 and 900 meters above sea level, which favorably affects the cultivation and selection of grape varieties. These places are famous for their unique soils, consisting of quartz porphyry – a rock from which purple dye was once made. The terroir has a strong influence on the formation of the flexible and dense structure of the wines from the Terlano region.

The cellars of the Terlano estate have been storing the most valuable vintages for a long time. Today, you can see 12 thousand bottles of different years there, starting from 1955. Several unique bottles of wine from the 1893 harvest, which are the same age as the cellar, are also stored here. This is one of the rarest wine collections in Italy, convincingly showing how mature and harmonious the Terlano wines are, as well as how gracefully and exquisitely they can age.

It is unlikely that there is another winery in Alto Adige other than Cantina Terlano that can present 15 Premium wines, 14 of which received high marks from 91/100 to 94/100 points for tasting to the famous wine experts from Wine Advocate. Moreover, it is unlikely that there is another wine cooperative in Italy with such a high level of assortment. This is the phenomenon of Cantina Terlano, which has proven that the collective farm version of the winemaking business gives results that are not inferior to, and sometimes even far exceed, the results of private wineries.