Creekside Vineyard, Lodi
TASTING NOTES:
The 2023 Teroldego has a deep inky color that surpasses that of Petite Sirah. While most wines have a purple, garnet, or magenta hue, Teroldego’s color leans towards blue/black. During the fermentation when it is time to mix the skins of the Teroldego with its juice, it feels like I am mixing a bin of coal; the color of Teroldego can be that dark. Aromas of mulberry, black cherry, wood smoke, and roasted meat are joined by a distinctive floral scent reminiscent of a tropical flower, hibiscus perhaps. Teroldego has a reputation for absorbing and integrating the influence of barrel aging which is to say the oak ‘marries’ into and becomes part of the wine’s overall character. With time in the glass our signature bouquet of hazelnut and caramel will emerge along with notes of cinnamon, clove and allspice. Savory flavors of plum, pomegranate, and roasted grain are delivered by a wine with a thick viscous texture. Teroldego’s deep color foreshadows a wine loaded with extract, but this wine is surprisingly smooth and supple. Often the aftertaste of a wine focuses on the oak and tannin, but not here; jammy blackberry flavors linger well pushing off final notes of toasted oak and quarry dust until well after the wine is gone.
TECHNICAL NOTES:
Varietal
Composition: 100% Teroldego
15.4% Alc. 6.6 g/L TA 3.46 pH
Oak
Regime: 23% American Oak 42% French Oak 35% Neutral Oak
The 2023 edition of Teroldego represents our seventh vintage working with this variety. I am pleased that our optimism regarding Teroldego was not misplaced. Since it was first released in 2019, the demand for Teroldego has spurred an increase in production and in 2023 we produced enough for it to be a Wine Club selection this year.
Teroldego hails from the Alto Adige, a region in the northeast of Italy where it grows along a similar variety Lagrein. While they both make deeply pigmented wines often with a hint of spice, the Teroldego is unlike Lagrein in that it does not have a bitter finish and its tannins are round. Sound familiar? It doesn’t have much of a presence in the international wine market. The vast majority of its production is consumed in the neighborhood of Trentino. However, its reputation for color and soft tannins has piqued the interest of growers not just in California but Australia as well. Ten years ago, when Ron McManis planted Teroldego in his Creekside Vineyard in the Jahant District of Lodi my curiosity was tickled, and we tried some. Funny how things work out.
Double Gold - 94 points - OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition
The price of this product varies with the quantity of products ordered in the category "Mix and Match"
| Qty | Unit Price |
| 1 - 11 | $32.00 |
| 12 + | $32.00 $28.80 |
|
