Nusserhof "Elda" Schiava 2017
"Nusserhof is situated in the South Tyrol mountains of the Alto Adige in extreme northern Italy, actually right in the regional capital city of Bolzano. It is owned by Heinrich and Elda Mayr, the family having worked the same land going back at least as far as 1788. Bolzano has grown explosively since WWII and has enveloped their property. The encroachment of civilization has certainly impacted but not deterred them. The winery’s name means “nut farm”, for the old walnut trees which used to line the path by the Mayrs’ house (until being cut down to make way for a bikeway). The wines feature indigenous local varieties exclusively.
90% Schiava/10 "other". Known locally as Vernatsch, Schiava is a thin-skinned grape native to the Alto Adige but down to only about 200 hectares in the region. The Mayrs of Nusserhof have a 1.5-hectare plot of mainly 90-year-old Schiava vines a few kilometers from their home vineyard. The vineyard is on a very steep hillside and planted in pergola formation on red volcanic porphyry soils. The farming is certified-organic and all work including harvest strictly by hand. Yields are naturally low at 30hl/ha max. The bunches are destemmed and co-fermented with natural yeasts in stainless steel tanks. Maceration lasts 4-6 weeks. The wine is aged in 20-hectoliter French oak botti for about 20 months, bottled with a light filtration and aged up to 2 more years before release. "Elda" is named for proprietress Elda Mayr the variety. The local Santa Magdalena DOC permits astronomic yields of 150 hl/ha, so the Mayrs choose to classify the wine as a Vino Rosso (thus variety and vintage are not allowed on the label, where a tiny lot number indicates the vintage)." -Supplier notes