2025 Lagrein

Lagrein remains a true rarity in Australia. Native to Alto Adige in northern Italy and documented there since the 14th century, the variety found an unlikely second home at Cobaw Ridge when Alan and Nelly Cooper grafted their first vines in 1994. Their inaugural 1998 release was Australia’s first commercial Lagrein and won Best Wine of Show at the Australian Italian Wine Awards. Subsequent vintages have reinforced that pioneering reputation, including 96 points from Halliday for the 2021 release, while wine writer Max Allen has described Cobaw Ridge as producing “the best Lagrein in the country”. The 2025 continues a remarkable Australian wine story nearly three decades in the making.

Nestled at 610m above sea level on the Cobaw Ridge, overlooking Central Victoria, the vines grow deep in the granitic mountain soil and work hard to produce grapes of superb balance. The marginality of this special site and the Cooper's commitment to sustainable and natural production ensures these are truly unique wines of place and time; No additions, fining, filtration or stabilisation are inflicted on the wine, other than, minimal sulphites just prior to bottling.

2025 was dry during winter in the lead up to the growing season and continued throughout. This allowed for clean canopy development and even flowering with little disease pressure. The season settled into long periods of warmth all the way up to harvest which resulted in concentrated, structured wines that have bounds of flavour and excellent framing tannins, with persistent acid.