Alto Adige Wine Summit 2021: great white wines and unparalleled diversity

A unique Wine Tasting Experience for the Alto Adige Wine Summit, held from 9th to 12th september 2021 in Bolzano. Read about the 17 wines I selected here!

By Filippo Bartolotta
Sep 23, 2021
tagAlt.Alto Adige vineyards landscape 3

What wines did I taste at the Alto Adige Wine Summit?

 

In this article I will present my personal wine tasting notes of wines I was able to appreciate thanks to the third edition of Alto Adige Wine Summit, which was held from September 9 to 12 in Bolzano.

In this year's initiative, a total of more than 258 wines from 78 producers were registered. An excellent wine selection that does not represent the totality of Alto Adige wines, but gives us an overall idea of the wine scene. The tastings I had confirmed the high level reached by Alto Adige wines

List of wines tasted:

  1. Franz Hass Pinot Noir 2015
  2. Maso Thaler Pinot Noir 2017
  3. Tenuta Rorhegger Schiava 2019
  4. Nusserhof Tyr…go 2016 
  5. Gump Hof Praeselius 2020
  6. Strasserhof “Sylvaner“ 2020
  7. Cantina di Terlano, Pinot Blanc Riserva Vorberg 2018
  8. Tenuta Loacker Vigneti Delle Dolomiti Chardonnay
  9. Cantina Turmhof Chardonnay Vigna Au Riserva 2019 Tiefenbrunner
  10. Chardonnay Riserva Castel Ringberg 2019 Elena Walch 
  11. Mitterberg Blanc Ambra 2020 GraWü
  12. Armin Kobler Gewürtraminer Feld 2020
  13. Weinberg Dolomiten Pinot Blanc Abrham Art 2019 
  14. Cantina Valle Isarco Gruner Veltiner Aristos 2020 
  15. Kuenohof Riesling Kaiton 2020
  16. Tenuta Köfererhof Kerner Valle Isarco 2020
  17. Peter Dipoli Voglar 2018

 

Arrival in South Tyrol the evening before the Wine Summit

I think back to my arrival a day before the summit to delve into a tour of the Rottensteiner Estate. My accommodation is a B&B in an old, romantic wooden farmhouse on the mountain between Gries and Bolzano. It's 18:30 and there is still enough light for a relaxing run after 1000 km by car. I go down to Bolzano along a steep mule track made of pink porphyry pebbles. I ran a couple of kilometers in the city and I started to climb. I get to the top almost in the dark and out of breath and from my terrace I see in the mountains on the horizon a beautiful pink mountain range made of four close peaks. I take a quick shower and come back to take a picture, but the sun has already set.

 

When the Catinaccio turns pink like a beautiful garden...

I wake up at dawn to breathe in as much beauty as possible with my eyes and...the beautiful pink mountains appear again. I make myself a coffee and go out with a steaming mug to enjoy the spectacle that has disappeared again. I talk about it at lunch with Hannes Rottensteiner and he tells me that I witnessed the legend of King Laurin who, angry for being betrayed by the rose garden of the Catinaccio of Laurin, launched a curse to hide these beauties from the eyes of humans both at night and during the day...Laurin forgot about the sunset and the sunrise, when then the Catinaccio became pink like a beautiful garden. Alto Adige wines are a bit like this story: legendary that is they hide with a façade that seems simpler than what it is, but if you taste them carefully you can find a romantic and deep beauty. 

 

What does this story have to do with Alto Adige wines?

Alto Adige wines are a bit like this story: legendary that is they hide with a façade that seems simpler than what it is, but if you taste them carefully you will find a deep romantic beauty.

Located in the heart of the Alpine arc, South Tyrol, despite its small size, is one of the most famous wine-growing areas in Italy.

South Tyrol gives us emotions with aromatic wines coming from typical mountain grapes. The wines of South Tyrol are precise, fruit-driven, juicy wines. They are apparently easy to drink.
 

 

So What did I taste and what wines struck my attention? Here we go...

 

Franz Hass Pinot Noir 2015:

Very sweet wine with no residue of course with aromas of root, rhubarb and currant. To be drunk non-stop!

 

Maso Thaler Pinot Noir 2017:

A Pinot Noir bomb. This wine has a perfect velvety palate with Pinot Noir aromas on the ridge of aromatic complexity at times of bark and sweet root but always full of fruit

 

Tenuta Rorhegger Schiava 2019:

A tasting I never wanted to finish. A mineral, responsive Schiava idea full of small red fruits! 

 

 

Nusserhof Tyr...go 2016. 

A wine that expresses itself at different speeds, at times shadowy and earthy with hints of mushroom and root and cola, then suddenly opening up with a mouthful of juicy, rich red fruit with great depth

 

Gump Hof Praeselius 2020:

Rocky, white spice, crisp, savory. An outstanding example of the potential of Pinot Blanc in Alto Adige white wines.

 

Strasserhoff "Sylvaner" 2020: 

Citrus, graphite, creamy savory and very clean. An immediate but not obvious wine! 

 

 

Cantina di Terlano, Pinot Blanc Riserva Vorberg 2018:

Vanilla, orange blossom, a tropical touch and extremely thirst-quenching with a very deep aromatic breadth wine.

 

Vigneti Delle Dolomiti Chardonnay Tenuta Loacker 

A two-speed wine with a fresh, responsive nose and a mouth played on sweet aromas and very affable tropical notes. 

 

Chardonnay Vigna Au Riserva 2019 Tiefenbrunner - Turmhof Winery

A savory granti with some matchy-matchy top notes and Mersault-like tension! What a wine! 

 

 

 

Castel Ringberg Reserve Chardonnay 2019 Elena Walch 

A powerful, loaded yet vibrant wine with a rocky fiber and crystal salts. 

 

 

Mitterberg Amber White 2020 GraWü

Wine with macerative traits that pushes on the orange. I like the salt that literally surfaces in every corner of the mouth with a nice loquat and grapefruit fruit sensation. 

 

Armin Kobler Gewürtraminer Feld 2020

In this wine scented of mountain flowers, sweet apricots and mango with a creamy, rounded palate but also gritty and tight with little residual sugar. 

 

Weinberg Dolomiten Pinot Blanc Abrham Art 2019 

Smoky white wine with aromas of cedar, peach, speck and a fabulous flint. 

 

 

Cantina Valle Isarco Gruner Veltiner Aristos 2020 

A wine with aromas centered on reserved floral notes with a broad, voluminous mouthfeel full of defined, well-integrated fruit.

 

Kuenohof Riesling Kaiton 2020

I wish we could find wines more often that like this have a nose of freshly squeezed lemons with a mouth full of vibrant energy and a mineral juiciness just waiting to emerge. 

 

Tenuta Köfererhof Kerner Valle Isarco 2020

A wine with a briny timbre with memories of white flowers and a citrusy, spicy mouthfeel full of perfect fruit that is never sweet. 

 

Peter Dipoli Voglar 2018

A Sauvignon Blanc wine of complexity and structure with aromas of elderberry, Mediterranean hermes, caper flower and a voluminous mouthfeel with traces of vanilla and a slight smokiness!

 

Would you like to taste these wines as well?

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