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2018 Kellerei Kurtatsch Schiava Sonntaler Alte Reben, Alto Adige

( £16.45, or £14.50 as part of a mixed case, 12.5%, Haynes Hanson and Clark )

I enthusiastically recommended the 2017 release of this wine, but I make no excuse for doing the same thing with the 2018. Schiava, otherwise known as Vernatsch, is the grape variety behind this wonderful, old-vine red from a brilliant co-operative in the Italian Alto Adige. Showing the Alpine freshness of a vineyard at 400 metres, it has top notes of rose petal and summer pudding, a core of redcurrant and wild strawberry fruit, racy, palate-tingling acidity, stony minerality and a long, textured, refined finish. Something to remind you of the last days of summer.

BuyDrinking window: 2020-25Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, Italy, Red, Schiava