Truffles in Alto Adige

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Cantina St. Michael-Eppan's prestige cuvee, released only in vintages the cellar declares the wine worthy. A multi-varietal blend of the cooperative's best parcels (typically Chardonnay-led with Pinot Bianco, Sauvignon and Pinot Grigio); the blend composition varies vintage to vintage.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Alto Adige's first wine to carry the official Vigna single-vineyard designation (1987 vintage). Pinot Nero from clay-limestone soils on the Mazon plateau, with the north-west facing rows cooled by the Ora wind from Lake Garda.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

Elena Walch's single-vineyard Chardonnay Riserva from the Castel Ringberg estate above Lake Caldaro - the family's monopole. Full-bodied, creamy and saline, structured for long-haul cellaring on the porphyry-limestone soils of Caldaro's western shore.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Cantina Colterenzio's hyper-limited Sauvignon Blanc Riserva from the oldest parcels of the Lafoa vineyard, planted in the late 1980s with French Sauvignon clones. Strictly limited to 4085 bottles per vintage; awarded White Wine of the Year by Gambero Rosso.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Elena Walch's flagship white cuvee, predominantly Chardonnay with select complementary white varietals. Fermented and aged in new French oak barriques; dense and complex, creamy yet juicy, the wine's name references the alpine altitude of its vineyards.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Intense garnet single-vineyard Lagrein from the 2.7-hectare walled Klosteranger site behind the monastery: concentrated dark-berry aromatics surprisingly fresh with coffee and raspberry; firm tannins, fresh acidity and elegant depth.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · Medium acidity · Contemplative · Bold

Lamarein is the flagship Lagrein of Erbhof Unterganzner, the Mayr family's historic farm in Cardano-Cornaiano. The cuvée anchors the cellar's IGT Vigneti delle Dolomiti range.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

Tiefenbrunner's flagship Pinot Nero Riserva from select vineyard sites in Entiklar and surrounds. The Linticlarus selection range delivers complex, elegant wines with extended ageing potential; the Pinot Nero is among Alto Adige's reference single-estate Pinot Noirs.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

Lageder's flagship Chardonnay from the best Loewengang parcels in Magre at 230-330 metres. The vines are among the oldest in Alto Adige (approximately 145 years). This was the first South Tyrolean white to position itself on international markets in the 1980s.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Manincor's selection Pinot Nero from the Mazzon plateau at 400-450 metres, sourced from the oldest vines in the highest position of the family's four hectares of Mazon Pinot Nero. Demeter biodynamic-certified; described by Manincor as the 'Grand Cru of Grand Cru'.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Elena Walch's supreme Pinot Noir achievement, released in limited 3000-bottle allocations and named after the Egyptian sun god. Sourced from vines 15-61 years old at 400-600 metres at Glen and Barleith; clay-calcareous soils, low-yielding French clones.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Franz Haas's top-tier Pinot Nero from the Ponkler vineyard at high altitude. Sits above Schweizer in the cellar's hierarchy; small allocations, structured for long cellaring.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Cantina St. Pauls's jewel-in-the-crown Pinot Bianco from steep south-facing Vigna slopes below the church in Missian, aged in clay amphora. Powerful and stately; among Alto Adige's most distinctive Pinot Bianco bottlings via the amphora ageing protocol.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury

Cantina Nals Margreid's flagship single-vineyard Pinot Bianco from the Sirmian terraces above Nalles at 500-700 metres on limestone, gneiss, mica, slate and marble soils with porphyry bedrock. Hand-harvested in mid-October; named Italian white wine of the year by Gambero Rosso.

Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · Medium acidity · Bold · Contemplative

Deep garnet Lagrein-dominant cuvee from 50-year-old vines in the Bolzano basin: ripe berry fruit with pepper, clove and graphite, complex barrique-and-concrete raising for 27 months total.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Cantina Terlano's flagship white cuvee, blended only in select vintages from the cooperative's best Vorberg, Kreuth and Winkl parcels. Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc combined into the cellar's most ambitious cuvee, total production 1500-3000 bottles per vintage.

Dry · Full-bodied · Low tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative

Cantina Terlano's flagship single-vineyard Pinot Bianco from the south-facing Monzoccolo slopes (450-650 metres altitude) on quartz-rich porphyry. Full-bodied, creamy, flint-driven; an age-worthy Italian Pinot Bianco, capable of 20-30 years cellaring.