2011 Rosso Faye

Mario Pojer and Fiorentino Sandri founded Pojer & Sandri out of a passion for experimentation, which made the winery one of Trentino’s top producers of wine and spirits. Whenever the pair was faced with a problem, they sought to invent the answer and, as a result, developed several tools and winemaking apparatuses that have gone on to be used worldwide. This desire to experiment continues to this very day as they delve deeper into natural winemaking and push the limits of what can be produced at the nose-bleed heights of Trentino, with some vineyards reaching up to 1000 meters in elevation. White, red, orange, sparkling and fortified, the winery produces them all with an astonishing level of expertise. There’s no fear of time here as well, as the winery maintains an epic library of back vintages and happily opens them regularly to show visitors just how well the wines mature over time. Today, Federico Sandri is the face of Pojer & Sandri. He took me up to the crest of their vineyards surrounding the town of Faedo, where the winery is located. From there, we could see across the Non Valley, with the Adige River at the bottom. I recall looking up to this very location from the valley floor, from the Foradori winery, and contemplating what wonders existed at these heights. Now I know. Tasting the wines, their Müller Thurgau is some of the best I’ve ever experienced. The Zero Infinito lineup pushes the limits of natural, noninterventionist winemaking, but in the best possible way, and the Rosso Faye remains one of my favorite Bordeaux blends from the region.