In the glass
Aroma: pineapple, rose petal, blossoms, light toast
Palate: complex tropical fruit, creamy texture, fresh juicy acidity, long taste reverberation
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.
What it pairs with
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Lobster with vanilla beurre blanc
Beyond the Clouds's creamy texture and tropical fruit meet sweet shellfish; vanilla echoes the new oak ageing. -
Truffle risotto
Full-bodied white with creamy lees pairs with white truffle; complex texture supports the dish's richness. -
Aged hard alpine cheese
Mature alpine cheeses meet the wine's depth, complexity and complementary oak spice. -
Roast veal with sage butter
Full body and high acidity suit white meat; sage echoes light toast notes from oak.
History
Elena Walch's signature cuvee, first bottled in the mid-1990s as the cellar's expression of high-altitude alpine Chardonnay-led winemaking. The Argentum Bonum special edition is aged in a former silver mine at altitude, giving an unusual variant of the wine.
- 1995 — First Beyond the Clouds vintage establishes Elena Walch's prestige cuvee program
- 2015 — Argentum Bonum special edition (mine-cellared) launched
Facts
- Producer
- Elena Walch
- Grapes
- Chardonnay
- Classification
- DOC Alto Adige Bianco
- Oak
- Fermentation in new French oak barriques with partial malolactic fermentation, then ten months ageing in barrique with regular lees stirring, followed by at least six months bottle ageing
- ABV
- 14.5%
- Price
- EUR 80 to 130 at retail
- Drinking window
- 5 to 25 from vintage
- First vintage
- 1995
Frequently asked about Grande Cuvee Beyond the Clouds
What does Beyond the Clouds taste like?
Pineapple, rose petal, blossoms and light toast on the nose; complex tropical fruit, creamy texture, fresh juicy acidity and a long reverberation on the palate. Full-bodied, dry, with high acidity.
When should I drink Beyond the Clouds?
Drink between 5 and 25 years from vintage. Young vintages show vibrant tropical fruit and oak; cellared bottles develop honey, hazelnut and pronounced complexity.
What grapes are in Beyond the Clouds?
Predominantly Chardonnay, blended with a selection of Elena Walch's white grapes from the cellar's high-altitude vineyards. The exact blend varies by vintage.
What is Argentum Bonum Beyond the Clouds?
A special edition aged in a former silver mine at altitude, giving distinctive smoke and saline notes from the mine's microclimate. Released in tiny allocations.