Description
Elisabetta Foradori, “Granato”
Elisabetta Foradori’s “Granato” is one of the rare wonders of the world, but not in the sense that one may think: It basks in relative obscurity and doesn’t find itself on the bucket list of millions like the Roman Colosseum or Machu Picchu. However, ask any esoteric collector, experienced sommelier, or serious Italophile and they’ll tell you all about it in effusive, borderline poetic detail. To us, that only further adds to its spectacular, if not mysterious, allure.
Truly, I can think of only a handful of wines that define an entire region, variety, and style in this same way as “Granato.” Yquem Sauternes, Conterno Barolo, Chave Hermitage…these wines are so evocative and so consistently outstanding, they’ve become the global standard against which all other peers are judged. The same goes for Foradori’s old-vine Teroldego in the Dolomites. Nobody could ever hope to match this level of excellence and profundity, so we should all be thankful that “Granato” still lurks right outside the global spotlight despite representing the gold standard for elite, cellar-worthy Italian reds. Those of you who’ve had the rare opportunity to taste this singular liquid before know what I’m talking about: It’s impossible not to fall madly in love with Foradori’s vibrant, muscular, and deeply complex Teroldego. Her 2018 release is a spectacular masterpiece. Up to six bottles per person.
Elisabetta Foradori grew up in the tiny, 2,000-person village of Mezzolombardo in the Dolomites, about 45 minutes south of the Austrian border in the Italian region of Trentino. Elisabetta’s father, a cooperative grape farmer, passed away when she was in middle school, leaving her to tend the vines. In her teens, she left high school and enrolled in an enology program. By age 19, she was supervising all aspects of harvest and production at Foradori. Over the next decade, Elisabetta transitioned the operations from bulk wine and grape sales to biodynamic farming and estate bottling.
In an era when this region was rapidly becoming overrun with the industrial production of cheap Pinot Grigio and Merlot, Elisabetta defiantly persisted with the same indigenous grape variety her father and grandfather farmed: Teroldego (DNA sequencing has shown it to be a direct sibling of Dureza, one of the ‘parent’ grapes of Syrah, and that Dureza is descended from Pinot Noir). By the mid-1990s, Elisabetta—still in her early 30’s—had become the world-renowned, public face of winemaking in the Dolomites, earning an array of top honors from international wine writers and critics. Twenty years later, Elisabetta’s wines remain some of the most soulful and sought-after in all of Italy. Today, we are featuring “Granato,” her top-of-the-line Teroldego from four hectares of old, pergola-trained vines.
Her naturally farmed, hand-harvested fruit retains roughly 50% of its cluster throughout a gentle pressing and an ambient-yeast fermentation in open-top vats. The resulting wine is then transferred into old tonnaux (larger oak barrels) for 15 months. After bottling without filtration, it rests another 15 months before exiting the cellar.
Foradori’s 2018 Granato is powerful, heavenly stuff that holds the pedigree and panache of Grand Crus and First Growths. There is so much mineral power, buoyant perfume, and muscular dark cherry/currant fruit; this wine’s complex structure and precise angles feel like they have been delicately cut and polished by a master bladesmith. This isn’t just a wine: It’s a monument to decades of focused craftsmanship in the vines and cellar. I’ve enjoyed many older bottles of “Granato” throughout my career and can promise that this will only improve for another 10+ years. If consuming in the short term, decant your bottle for 2-3 hours and serve it in large Bordeaux stems around 60 degrees. Most importantly, take care to accommodate its power and intensity with an appropriate meal. A patiently slow-roasted pork shoulder with herbed spätzle is a phenomenal candidate. And one more pointer: this is not a bottle to share with a loud table of friends. There is so much going on and it morphs dramatically as you drink it, so don’t shortchange yourself with distractions or an insufficient serving. This is a remarkable wine and the more time and attention you give it, the more you’ll gain from the experience!
