Today’s review is about a northern Italian red wine that I particularly love (Muri-Gries, Alto Adige Lagrein “Abtei Muri” Riserva DOC 2007 – $38) which is made from an Italian indigenous grape variety that in my view undeservedly gets too little attention in the wine world: Lagrein.
The Bottom Line
Overall, the Abtei Muri was an extremely good, marvelously smooth, fruit-forward wine with supple tannins and good structure, an ideal companion to a red meat dinner. I think that with a couple more years of evolution under its belt, this wine may become truly spectacular: I will have to look for one more bottle from the 2007 vintage, if I can find one!
Rating: Outstanding and definitely Recommended, given its great QPR 
– $$
(Explanation of our Rating and Pricing Systems)
About the Grape
The earliest mention of Lagrein is contained in a 1318 document found (of all places!) in Gries, near Bolzano, and surprisingly it refers to a white wine, that researchers have not been able to identify yet. Instead, the first reference to the red Lagrein that we know dates back to 1526.
Recent DNA analysis proved that Lagrein is a variety that is indigenous to the Alto Adige region of Italy, that it originated as a natural cross between Teroldego and an unknown variety and that, among other cool facts, it is a sibling of Marzemino and a cousin of Syrah!
In Italy, Lagrein is mostly grown in the northern regions of Alto Adige and Trentino. Outside of Italy, Lagrein can be found in California (Paso Robles) and Australia.
(Information on the grape variety taken from Wine Grapes, by Robinson-Harding-Vouillamoz, Allen Lane 2012 – for more information about grape varieties, check out our Grape Variety Archive)
About the Appellation
A few words about the appellation. Alto Adige is a portion of the northern, mountainous region of Italy known as Trentino Alto Adige that is close to Austria and produces several wines of excellent quality, including indigenous Lagrein and very good Schiava and Pinot Noir among the reds and excellent whites ranging from Riesling and Sylvaner to Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Given the great quality of the wines from this area of Italy, it is somewhat sad to notice that they all come from one single appellation that encompasses the entire Alto Adige area, known as Alto Adige DOC. It is true that this macro-appellation includes a few subzones (among which St. Magdalener, Terlaner and Valle Isarco) but still, one appellation with over 20 permitted grape varieties??? Talk about the importance of terroir… 😦 So, as of today one can mostly rely on the seriousness and commitment to quality of many Alto Adige producers. Personally, I hope that at some point at least certain of those subzones may be upgraded to self-standing appellations, focusing only on the grapes that are best suited for that specific subregion.
About the Estate
Muri-Gries is currently a Benedictine monastery in the village known as Gries near the town of Bolzano (Bozen), in the northeastern Italian region of Alto Adige. The original building was erected in the XI century as a fortress and kept that purpose until 1407, when it was gifted to Augustinian canons who had lost their monastery due to a flood and it was converted into a monastery. Grapevine growing and winemaking started in 1845, when the monastery passed on to Benedictine friars, who had been ousted from their monastery in Muri, Switzerland, and who eventually settled in the Gries monastery, which changed its name to the current Muri-Gries. As of today, the Benedectine friars still take care of the monastery and its vineyards.
The monastery owns nearly 30 HA (75 acres) of vineyards (80% of which are Lagrein) and 52 HA (131 acres) of orchards, beside some 45 cattle, which make the monastery essentially self-sufficient. Even part of the wine made in the monastery is earmarked for the friars’ own consumption.
Our Detailed Review
Let’s now move on to the actual review of the Muri-Gries, Alto Adige Lagrein “Abtei Muri” Riserva 2007 DOC that I recently tasted.
For starters, “Abtei Muri” is the flagship line of the monastery wine production. This premium lineup comprises four wines: the Lagrein that we are about to review, a Pinot Noir, a white blend of Pinot Blanc and Pinot Grigio, and a sweet Moscato Rosa.
Our Abtei Muri Lagrein was made from 100% Lagrein grapes and was fermented in steel vats and then aged for 16 months in barrique oak casks. It is 13.5% ABV and it retails in the US for about $38, which (as you will soon find out if you keep reading) is great value for this wine.
As usual, for my review I will use a simplified version of the ISA wine tasting protocol that we described in a previous post: should you have doubts as to any of the terms used below please refer to that post for a refresher.
In the glass, the wine poured ruby red with purple hints and thick when swirled
On the nose, its bouquet was intense, complex and fine, with aromas of blueberry, blackberry, black pepper, tobacco and licorice.
In the mouth, it was dry, warm, smooth; quite fresh, with deliciously supple tannins, and tasty. The wine was full-bodied and perfectly balanced. The mouth flavors were intense and fine, with nice correspondence to the aromatic palette and hints of blueberry, blackberry and black pepper. It had a quite long finish and its evolutionary state was ready (that is, perfectly good to enjoy now, but will probably evolve even more with two or three years of additional aging).
Clicks & Corks 
I have only had one Lagrein and it was several years ago, but I really liked it. I am typically not a big red kind of guy (and know next to nothing about Italian wine), and while the Lagrein I had was not “big” it certainly had the stuffing to hold up against even the heartiest of meals. I wish there were more available in the States…
Thank you for your comment, Jeff. You are definitely right: Lagrein is not as big as certain Primitivos or Amarones, but it is still a structured red. I love good Lagreins and Muri-Gries’s is really good. I am not sure what the story is in PA with the crazy wine laws that you guys have, but the Abtei Muri is definitely available in the US and in my view at an appealing price point. If you have an opportunity, give it a shot and see how you like it. Take care
A fascinating post, Stefano, one that taught me a great deal. It sounds like this is a wine I’d enjoy. It’s good to read that is it available here in the US. I’ll add it to my list of “must buys”. That list should have a sub-title of “Because Stefano Says So!” 🙂
Thank you for sharing another interesting post.
Thank you very much for your support and always kind words, John 🙂
I hope you will have an opportunity to taste a good Lagrein – if you do, please let me know how you like it!
Stefano, I enjoyed reading the history of the grape variety and of the Muri-Gires estate. You have a nice writing style which makes your posts easy to read and they are always so informative. 😉
Thank you so much, B: your words are a great compliment.
I am happy that you enjoyed reading those parts too: honestly, I am fascinated by grape variety history and I love writing about it – I am glad that I have at least one reader that is as fascinated as I about this subject! 😉
Wow, Stefano, good review! I’ve been mouth watering after reading it. The intro and history part are brilliant and that’s what I tend to do for my posts. Cheers for the excellent writing!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I am glad you enjoyed the read and especially the history part – I find it interesting too, but sometimes wonder if someone else does! 😉 So hearing that you enjoyed it just makes me feel good 🙂
I love your blog too, by the way!
Have a great weekend,
Stefano
As always, I really enoyed the set up of your post (I think I should commend you for it, because it really is so well structured!) and naturally its conent. I have always wanted to try a Lagrein, mostly because I find the name so fascinating (try saying it with an Austrian accent and it sounds very painful…). This post makes me want to try one even more. I am intrigued by the what seemes light-hearted fruitiness that is not flabby in any way…
Thank you so much, Oliver! Hearing that you like the structure of my wine posts actually makes me very happy as I changed it not too long ago introducing basically headers for the different sections of the posts. I did it because I thought my posts are generally quite long and reading the whole thing with no dividers just looked visually boring. My intent was to break up the text into logical units. Once again, glad you noticed and glad you like it! 🙂
When we meet you will need to say Lagrein with an Austrian accent for me! 😉
I hope you will get to try a good Lagrein such as the Abtei Muri: you’ll see, the fruit is there, but the wine is anything but flabby, thanks to its tannins and minerals that keep things pleasantly in balance.
I’ve never heard of Lagrein. Sounds wonderful though… as you know, I am a big fan of robust, peppery reds. I’ll have to try to track it down here in Australia, though I don’t like my chances. We’re getting a lot of fruity Spanish reds in the stores here but not many Italian varieties. Another great post my friend! 🙂
Hey Laura, thanks for your always interesting comments!
I hope at some point you will have a chance to taste a quality Lagrein: I would love to hear your take on it, how you like it. Since by now I know a little bit what kind of wines you like, I think you might be happy with it 🙂
I think this is one of the strengths in Italian wine production: indigenous varieties. Because while of course I love (good) wines from international varieties, I think our wine lives would be quite boring if we were restrained to just Chard, Sauv B, Cabs, Merlot, Syrah… Instead I think it is nice to experiment and “train your nose/palate” also with other varieties “off the beaten path”: Lagrein, Nerello Mascalese, Aglianico del Vulture, Caberlot, Lacrima di Morro d’Alba, Ripoli, Fenile, Ginestra, Timorasso, Pecorino, Passerina… you name it! 😉