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www.buyersandcellars.ca Cellar Profile
This organic winery is situated in the picturesque village bearing its name in Alto Adige, nestled in the Southern Alps and Dolomite mountain ranges. Its hand-crafted mountain wines are painstakingly made with as little intervention as possible to best exemplify the unique terroir of the region. These red wine vineyards have some of the hottest daytime temperatures in all of Italy, rising to 40℃ during the summer months, but with a significant drop in temperature in the evening to retain freshness. The whites come from the hamlets of Hofstatt and Penon, with heroic vineyards planted on exceedingly steep mountainsides at elevations up to 2500ft above sea level. These rocky outcrops have a multitude of geological peculiarities, giving their wines intense, saline-like minerality. These are amongst the most aromatic and flavourful white wines on earth, ranging in style from steely dry to lusciously sweet.
Region
The region of Trentino-Alto Adige is bordered by East and North Tyrol (Austria) to the north-east and north respectively, by Graubünden (Switzerland) to the north-west and by the Italian regions of Lombardy to the west and Veneto to the south and south-east. It covers 13,607 square kilometres and is extremely mountainous, covering a large part of the Dolomites and the southern Alps. Südtirol (where Cantina Kurtatsch is located) has an area of 7,398 square kilometres, all of it mountainous land and covered by vast forests. The climate here is Mediterranean (hot summer and cold winters) owing to the influence of the many mountain ranges, which stand at over 3,000 metres above sea level, and the wide valleys through which flows (from north to south) the main river, the Adige, and its numerous tributaries.
Vineyard
The Hofstatt site is located in the Hofstatt district of Kurtatsch, situated south-west above the village center at altitudes between 500 and 650 meters. The steep vineyards, calcareous subsoil with clay content and large diurnal shift found here create an ideal environment for growing Pinot Blanc. As with all Kurtatsch vineyards, Hofstatt is farmed organically.
Varieties
Pinot Blanc is the white grape mutation of Pinot Noir. It is found mostly in Germany and Northern Italy, where wines are refreshing, peachy and dry. Sometimes intensely aromatic, Pinot Blanc can display notes of white florals and stone fruit.
Winemaking
Hand-harvested from steep, high altitude vineyards. Temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless-steel tanks, followed by aging in neutral oak barrels on the lees to extract complexity and mouth-feel.
Tasting Notes
A clarion call for high altitude Pinot Blanc. This wine is as nervy as it comes. Taut aromas of lemon, white grapefruit, river rock and a touch of smokiness. Intense and lively on the palate, the wine has perceptible lemon-lime tartness. There is a hint of creaminess mid-palate that adds wonderful complexity and which is all underlay with that signature salty minerality that quality whites from Alto Adige have.