Lieben Aich DOC 2021 1500ml Magnum

The Lieben Aich consists of 100% Sauvignon blanc and is grown on the eponymous site in Terlan, a south-western slope at 300 m above sea level with a mild, breezy microclimate and water-permeable, sandy loam on porphyry weathered rock. 2021 was a comparatively late year, the hand harvest for the Lieben Aich started already in mid-September and was at the desired low level with a yield per hectare of 37 hl. The destemmed grapes remained on the press for twelve hours for maceration, and spontaneous fermentation took place in wooden barrels with the grape's own yeasts. The wine then matured for 10 months on the fine lees before being bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Bright straw yellow with green reflections, bright and clear.

The 2021 Lieben Aich from Manincor shows itself again this year as a restrained Sauvignon, which rather practices understatement than beating the hard beat of varietal typicality with a tin drum. The fruit seems as if from a distance, very subtle, yet always ripe, more grapefruit than lime, yet always fine and light-footed. Lemon blossom, white flowers and slightly smoky overtones in the top note thanks to the porphyry are subtle and almost floral. It is young at the moment and belongs not only in the carafe but also in the large glass. The grand opera begins unusually after about five years of bottle maturity, timpani, trumpets, strings and all that jazz.

As in the nose, the Lieben Aich is currently more of a sketch on the palate than a fully developed wine, whose charm will only develop as it matures in the bottle, instead of already cheekily courting the favour of the quick tipple at its current stage. With dense extract, it flows viscously over the palate and has an enormous tension, so that one could think it would soon burst. Full of vibration, it reminds aromatically of anise, yellow stone fruit and kitchen herbs like chervil and tarragon. Full of pressure with an animatingly tart phenolic, it tells of the future with an assured voice. Benchmark Sauvignon from South Tyrol.