Winemaker Notes
The Lowengang Chardonnay is a clear, gold-yellow with a pronounced and intense nose of fruit (pear, apricot, peach) fresh butter and wood. A full-bodied, multi-layered, mineral, fruity and salty wine.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Incredibly fragrant yellow apple with smoky minerals and rich baking spices. Round and creamy on the palate, with cooling acidity that adds grip. Saline minerals appear on the nutty finish.
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Wine Spectator
A rich white in a graceful frame, with a pronounced streak of salinity working with vibrant acidity to define the medley of baked pineapple and persimmon fruit, roasted almond and pastry cream, Meyer lemon peel and elderflower notes. Expressive and well-knit, with the long finish echoing the flavor range and packing additional mineral and spice elements. Chardonnay.
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Wine Enthusiast
The Lowengang Chardonnay is an icon of Italian Chardonnay and continues to show the dedication of the Lageder estate to producing the highest quality of wines. Aromas of spiced baked apples, Comice pears, candied lemon zest, white flowers and baking spices are present. The wine is rich and broad on the palate with a creamy texture and hints of vanilla and both sweet and savory spices. The wine finishes with the energy and pulse of the mountains, showing both the mineral edge and the important acidity that gives this wine the structure for the long haul.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Alois Lageder 2020 Chardonnay Löwengang opens to a classy touch of reduction that recalls flint or struck match. It lifts quickly to reveal pear, quince, golden apple, honey glaze, vanilla wafer and saffron. There is a spicy side as well, with pink peppercorn and lots of glacier-like minimality. The wine shows moderate length, but its natural freshness feels muted, and the acidity lags in this hot vintage.
The Alois Lageder winery was established in 1823 and today it is managed by the family’s fifth and sixth generation. The winery is located in Magrè, in the southern part of the Alto Adige region. With a holistic approach, creativity and an experimental spirit Alois Lageder produces wines that reflect the diversity of Alto Adige. We are committed to biodynamic wine production and continually expand our knowledge in this area. In addition to the family owned vineyards (135 acres / 55 hectares) the winery collaborates with around 80 grape growers (247 acres / 100 hectares).
Alois Lageder believes that organic and biodynamic cultivation greatly enriches the landscape. One of the goals of biodynamics is to build a closed farm organism and to increase diversity and fertility. The winery collaborates with mountain farmers who bring their cows and sheep in the winery’s vineyards during the autumn and winter months, following the old tradition of transhumance. This helps to increase the vitality of the grapes and the biodiversity.
A few years ago, Alois Lageder started to cooperate with some local winegrowers from the wider Dolomiti area, which is why Pinot Grigio and Pinot Bianco have the Dolomiti appellation. Today, this collaboration and organic farming are met with enormous interest allowing us to expand this project giving the wines their own name: Terra Alpina. The Terra Alpina wines are characterized by a unique interplay of harsh Alpine and sunny Mediterranean influences.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A mountainous northern Italian region heavily influenced by German culture, Trentino-Alto Adige is actually made up of two separate but similar regions: Alto Adige and Trentino.
Trentino, the southern half, is primarily Italian-speaking and largely responsible for the production of non-native, international grapes. There is a significant quantity of Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Merlot produced. But Trentino's native and most unique red variety, Teroldego, while still rare, is gaining popularity. It produces a deeply colored red wine rich in wild blackberry, herb, coffee and cocoa.
The rugged terrain of German-speaking Alto Adige (also referred to as Südtirol) focuses on small-scale viticulture, with great value placed on local varieties—though international varieties have been widely planted since the 1800s. Sheltered by the Alps from harsh northerly winds, many of the best vineyards are at extreme altitude but on steep slopes to increase sunlight exposure.
Dominant red varieties include the bold, herbaceous Lagrein and delicate, strawberry-kissed, Schiava, in addition to some Pinot Nero.
The primary white grapes are Pinot grigio, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay and Pinot blanc, as well as smaller plantings of Sauvignon blanc, Müller Thurgau. These tend to be bright and refreshing with crisp acidity and just the right amount of texture. Some of the highest quality Pinot grigio in Italy is made here.