Get 10% off the purchase price with every order of 12 bottles or more of still wine not already on sale. The savings add up!
Candela Prol, highly experienced certified wine educator and friend of the shop, is available for tastings and training for private and corporate events. For rates and other inquiries, please contact her at candelaprol@gmail.com .
*Offsite events are contracted to and coordinated by a 3rd party, and are in no way affiliated with Chambers Street Wines.
Earlier in the month, we highlighted a couple wines from Pranzegg. The Miau! and the Rosso Leggero are fresh and fruity wines full of punchy zest. There is a casualness to their characters, perfect for the hot, hot days we've been having. Those of you who've shopped with us for years, however, know that Pranzegg also produces wines of more serious structure and complexity of fruit and earth. Meant for the table rather than the picnic blanket, one could say. Luckily, they still carry that flash of "natural" tension that low-intervention wine drinkers need in their glasses.
Weingut Pranzegg is very close to the Austrian border. It rests like a castle above the city of Bolzano in Italy's region of Alto-Adige. Here, Martin Gojer controls the family estate, which he took over in 2008. He quickly brought vineyards into biodynamic conversion.
Most of Martin's production relies on the region's traditional red grapes: Schiava and Lagrein. The former is popular with wine drinkers in the United States looking for light bodied red that can be chilled. Although there definitely are charmless, thin examples on the market, well-made Schiava can retain the lovely briskness of a lean red wine with powerful depth to boot. Lagrein is slightly lesser known, but I love it for its earthiness and its strong build.
In the cellar, Martin tries to intervene as little as possible. Like in his vines, he wants the process to be straightforward. Native yeast fermentation for all wines, and none go through fining or filtering. There is only a small amount of sulfur used.
We're excited to offer a range of vintages showcasing Martin's Schiava Campill and Lagrein Laurenc bottlings. The most recent years have just landed on our shelves. Some inventory is rather low, so if you're enticed be sure to secure your bottles!
Schiava Campill
2016 Vintage: Color is a dark ruby core with lighter edges. A touch of red licorice on the nose, with raspberry and ripe strawberry. The palate is earthy, edgy, with slim red fruits. Very mineral driven. Structurally snappy, with a cool middle, and medium acidity. Only an ounce of tannin. (Only 9 bottles in stock!)
2017 Vintage: Light red cherry color. Nose is ripe and fruit forward, with raspberry, black cherry, and a fresh herbal aroma. A clean smell of orange peel appears after a moment open. On the palate, firm flavors of red berries and dark stones hit the tongue. The finish is enhanced by a spark of salinity. A mineral tingle brightens a structure of semi-chewy tannin and high acid. Great mouthfeel, wonderful length, and full of flavor!
Lagrein Laurenc
2014 Vintage: Dense purple in color. Earth, anise, and cocoa on the nose, with dark roses and rhubarb. The palate is earth driven, with tense minerality. Dried cherry, with mint and black tea. High toned, with bright acidity and very chewy tannin. Incredibly engaging, a wine the develops many layers while staying staying bright and very accessible.
2016 Vintage: Rich and plummy in color. Liquor-like cherry on the nose, with heady birch, black pepper, and raw almonds. Raspberry and cherry on the palate - mineral drive and salty, mineral center. A great wine, with high acidity and grippy, engaging tannin.
2017 Vintage: A barely translucent purple in the glass. The nose is dark and brooding, with mellow tones of black plum, blackberry, fennel seed, and garden soil. Becomes floral with time, and then a little ripe peach appears. The palate has great nervy fruit, with lapping flavors of black cherry and gravelly minerality. Structure washes over the tongue, with lush tannin and bright acidity. New to Lagrein? Definitely start here.
Along with the reds from Pranzegg, we're also happy to have a new vintage of Martin's Tonsur Bianco - a blend of Muller Thurgau, Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner, and Chardonnay.
The Tonsur Bianco 2020 is a beautiful hazy lemon in the glass. Savory oyster shell, intensely herbal and floral, with lemon pith and firm pear on the nose. Aromatically, it really opens up after a few hours, showing wonderfully floral citrus and lemon grass. The palate has bite - with a strong saline core, lemon zest, and snappy yellow apple. Like the nose, the flavors loosen up with time, with lovely soft stone fruit. Finishes with a light smokiness. High acid adds to the wine's edge, with a hint of tannin to help balance. A real tasty journey with this wine!
As a store, we spent a week tasting through Martin's wines. We had wonderful conversations about the differences between them. If you're anything like us, if the details between vintages excites you, this offer is a chance for you to geek out and explore a menu of incredible biodynamic gems. Enjoy! David Hatzopoulos
**We're also offering the Maui! and the Leggero again this afternoon! If you missed them last time, get them now!**
Pranzegg 2014 Mitterberg Lagrein Laurenc
From 15 year old vines planted in both guyot and pergola training systems, Pranzegg's Lagrien is fermented with submerged cap for 4 weeks. Dense purple in color. Earth, anise, and cocoa on the nose, with dark roses and rhubarb. The palate is earth driven, with tense minerality. Dried cherry, with mint and black tea. High toned, with bright acidity and very chewy tannin. Incredibly engaging, a wine the develops many layers while staying staying bright and very accessible. David Hatzopoulos
Pranzegg 2017 Mitterberg Lagrein Laurenc
100% Lagrein from Alto-Adige. A barely translucent purple in the glass. The nose is dark and brooding, with mellow tones of black plum, blackberry, fennel sead, and garden soil. Becomes floral with time, and then a little ripe peach apepars. The palate has great nervy fruit, with lapping flavors of black cherry and gravelly minerality. Structure washes over the tongue, with lush tannin and bright acidity. New to Lagrein? Definitely start here. David Hatzopoulos
Pranzegg 2016 Mitterberg Schiava / Vernatsch Campill
Sourced from 50 year-old vines trained in pergola and farmed biodynamically, this is a more profound expression of the grape Schiava than one usually finds. The wine is fermented with 30% stem inclusion and macerates for 6 weeks in large conical vats followed by elevage in old oak and cement tank for 10 months. Color has a dark ruby core with lighter edges. A touch of red licorice on the nose, with raspberry and ripe strawberry. The palate is earthy, edgy, with slim red fruits. Very mineral driven. Structurally snappy, with a cool middle, and medium acidity. Only an ounce of tannin. David Hatzopoulos
Pranzegg 2017 Mitterberg Schiava / Vernatsch Campill
Light red cherry color. Nose is ripe and fruit foward, with raspberry, black cherry, and a fresh herbal aroma. A clean smell of orange peel appears after a moment open. On the palate, firm flavors of red berries and dark stones hit the tongue. The finish is enhanced by a spark of salinity. A mineral tingle brightens a structure of semi-chewy tannin and high acid. Great mouthfeel, wonderful length, and full of flavor! David Hatzopoulos
Pranzegg 2016 Mitterberg Lagrein Laurenc
100% Lagrein. Rich and plummy in color. Liqour-like cherry on the nose, with heady birch, black pepper, and raw almonds. Raspberry and cherry on the palate - mineral drive and salty, mineral center. A great wine, with high acidity and grippy, engaging tannin. An incredible expression of this very Alpine grape! David Hatzopoulos
Pranzegg 2020 Vino Bianco Tonsur
A beautiful hazy lemon in the glass. Savory oyster shell, intensely herbal and floral, with lemon pith and firm pear on the nose. Aromatically, it really opens up after a few hours, showing wonderfully floral citrus and lemon grass. The palate has bite - with a strong saline core, lemon zest, and snappy yellow apple. Like the nose, the flavors loosen up with time, with lovely soft stone fruit. Finishes with a light smokiness. High acid adds to the wine's edge, with a hint of tannin to help balance. A real tasty journey with this wine! David Hatzopoulos
Pranzegg 2020 Rosso Frizzante Miau!
Biodynamically farmed Schiava from one of our favorite estates in Alto Adige. Great color - clear but juicy ruby. The nose is full of fruit with crisp red apple, white flowers, snappy green stems, and pine needles. Flavors of red citrus, apple skin, crushed dark minerals, watermelon rind, and tangy cherry. Great blanket of firm bubbles excite the tongue and there is a tannic touch on the gums. High acid carries the wine's clean fruit. Sunday afternoon drinking? Here's a perfect choice! David Hatzopoulos
Pranzegg 2020 Vino Rosso Leggero
The Vino Rosso Leggero is made from mostly Schiava with a little bit of Lagrein (and a dash of other red grapes). Color is a bright red cherry. On the nose smells of fresh cranberries and raspberries. A lovely softness rounds out the wines aromatic display, with violets and swaths of green grass. The palate is zesty, with plum skin, tart red berries, pomegranate seeds, and a dark, stony minerality. On the finish, a hint of savory spice falls on the tongue. High acid, hint of tannin - give this wine a chill and be rewarded. Drink one of these and you'll be back for more! David Hatzopoulos