The ancient monastery of Muri-Gries, located just south of the Brenner Pass in Südtirol is the source for a bevy of clean, complex and classy wines made from the traditional grapes of this beautiful region. Muri-Gries remains a working Benedictine monastery, which was originally built in the late eleventh century as a fortress. In the fourteenth century, the fortress was donated to a local group of monks and converted into a monastery. Lagrein produces a very classy red wine that offers up a unique aromatic mélange of black cherries and dark berries, as well as chocolate, fresh herb tones, earth and at times a slightly resinous topnote that adds an additional layer of complexity. On the palate Lagrein is full-bodied; a deep wine that is surprisingly supple and voluptuous, with modest, well-integrated tannins and lovely framing acids that add succulence and focus in the mouth.