Tre Bicchieri 2019 Previews. Alto Adige's best wines

A series of extremely varied seasons put Alto Adige’s many vine growers to the test. Despite the fact that a notorious 2014 has virtually disappeared from our tastings, the differences are easily detected in the glass. 2015 saw excellent maturation and wines of great richness, while 2016 gave rise to a more elegant, spirited profile. Finally, 2017 was a controversial year that began with a terrible freeze that affected all of northern Italy, and while it eventually gave way to a hot, dry summer, it concluded with a bit too much hail, especially in the Eisack Valley. But the final results were still excellent. Pinot Bianco, the region’s crown prince, lived up to expectations and took home a number of awards, with wines that explore the territory’s various personalities, from the aromatic freshness and tension of Nals’ Sirmian to the elegance of Merano’s Tyrol, to the complexity of Manincor’s Eichhorn. Nor should we forget Prackwieser’s Praesulis or Niklaserhof’s Riserva Klaser or the numerous wines that earned a place in our finals. Pinot Nero also put in a great performance, with wines that are increasingly showing an ability to highlight the attributes of the territory, from the richness and solidity of Mazzon to the finesse and tension that characterize the wines of Appiano Monte. Bolzano continues to serve as a laboratory for churning out wines whose distinctive traits are aromatic fullness of fruit and power, as is the case with Cantina di Bolzano’s and Christian Plattner’s Lagreins. In the same way the Eisack and Vinschgau valleys are able to continually bring out the finesse of their best whites. The trio of Brenntal, Auratus, Nussbaumer is by a now a kind of playlist for those who love Gewürztraminer, while those who prefer less explosive offerings will enjoy three top-notch whites: Elena Walch’s Beyond the Clouds, Terlano’s Nova Domus and Colterenzio’s Lafòa Chardonnay, a wine that’s difficult to forget. We also want to mention a sector that still hasn’t blossomed but is showing great promise, sparkling winemaking, as evidenced by Kettmeir’s Riserva 1919 ’12. Among the other wines awarded we wanted to mention Tiefenbrunner’s 2016 Feldmarschall and two Schiavas, Untermoserhof’s 2016 Santa Maddalena Classico Hueb and Cantina di Caldaro’s delicious 2017 Lago di Caldaro Quintessenz, a wine that also took home our award for Best Value for Money.

A. A. Bianco Beyond the Clouds '16 – Elena Walch

A. A. Chardonnay Lafòa '16 – Cantina Colterenzio

A. A. Gewürztraminer Auratus '17 – Tenuta Ritterhof

A. A. Gewürztraminer Brenntal Ris. '16 – Cantina Kurtatsch

A. A. Gewürztraminer Nussbaumer '16 – Cantina Tramin

A. A. Lago di Caldaro Cl. Sup. Quintessenz '17 – Cantina di Caldaro

A. A. Lagrein Mirell Ris. '15 – Tenuta Waldgries

A. A. Lagrein Taber Ris. '16 – Cantina Bolzano

A. A. Müller Thurgau Feldmarschall von Fenner '16 – Tiefenbrunner

A. A. Pinot Bianco Klaser Ris. '15 – Niklaserhof-Josef Sölva

A. A. Pinot Bianco Praesulis '17 – Gumphof-Markus Prackwieser

A. A. Pinot Bianco Sirmian '17 – Nals Margreid

A. A. Pinot Bianco Tyrol '16 – Cantina Meran

A. A. Pinot Nero Abtei Muri Ris. '15 – Cantina Convento Muri Gries

A. A. Pinot Nero Ris. '15 – Stroblhof

A. A. Pinot Nero Sanct Valentin Ris. '15 – Cantina Produttori San Michele Appiano

A. A. Pinot Nero Trattmann Mazon Ris. '15 – Cantina Girlan

A. A. Santa Maddalena Cl. Hueb '16 – Untermoserhof-Georg Ramoser

A. A. Spumante Extra Brut 1919 Ris. '12 – Kettmeir

A. A. Terlano Nova Domus Ris. '15 – Cantina Terlano

A. A. Terlano Pinot Bianco Eichorn '16 - Manincor

A. A. Val Venosta Riesling Weingarten Windbichel '16 – Tenuta Unterortl-Castel Juval

A. A. Valle Isarco Riesling '16 – Köfererhof-Günter Kerschbaumer

A. A. Valle Isarco Sylvaner Alte Reben '16 – Pacherhof-Andreas Huber

A. A. Valle Isarco Sylvaner Lahner '16 – Taschlerhof-Peter Wachtler