Rediscovering Alto Adige, Plus Chile’s Old-Vine Splendor: Weekly Tasting Report

Alto Adige's wine evolution has now reached a point nearing full maturity, with wines that have their own unmistakable personalities, built on a deep connection between grape variety and place. Above all, the region’s finest expressions – whether white or red – are rooted in pinot, although there is another rising star worth watching: gewurztraminer.

That was the conclusion after several days spent touring and tasting across the region with James Suckling, during which we sampled roughly 400 wines and hosted a mini-summit dedicated to pinot noir, bringing together many of the region’s leading producers. But let’s begin with the rediscovery of gewurztraminer – a highly aromatic grape and wine that is often seen as an easy introduction for newcomers. It is moderate in acidity, silky in texture, sometimes carries a touch of residual sugar and is very approachable, which is why it is frequently dismissed by some of the most seasoned connoisseurs.

More often than not, one tastes it with an open mind and a critical palate only to arrive at the familiar conclusion: “It’s good, but it’s more for others than for me.” Yet James and I found ourselves saying something quite different. There were several gewurztraminers we would happily drink ourselves.

At a time when Alsace, challenged by climate warming, is increasingly struggling to achieve the finesse that once made the variety legendary, with alcohol levels and residual sugar often climbing too high, Alto Adige is finding greater complexity in its gewurztraminers and is emerging as perhaps the leading region for the grape.

Where Alto Adige is already the undisputed world leader is pinot blanc. Often regarded as a relatively neutral variety, here it acquires striking minerality, depth and balance. Not all sites, however, are created equal.

The region is divided between lower, much warmer areas and steep hillside vineyards anchored in dolomite, the mineral-rich rock that defines these mountains. Some sites bear volcanic influences, others reflect soils rich in iron oxides. Vineyards such as Vorberg, perched dramatically above the valley floor, reveal just how much energy and vibrancy altitude, soils and typically northern exposures can bring to the wines.

Yet for many estates, the greatest ambitions are reserved for pinot noir, the focus of a dinner organized by James Suckling at the Manna Resort in Montagna, bringing together around a dozen of the region’s finest producers of the variety.

The location was no coincidence. Mazzon and Montagna are widely regarded as two of Alto Adige’s grand crus for pinot noir, where the soils provide richness and generosity while preserving the freshness and minerality that define the region’s wines.

The evolution here is above all stylistic. In the past, producers pursuing great pinot noir often relied on very late harvests, sometimes resulting in overly rich wines, coupled with rather heavy-handed use of new oak. Today, harvest decisions are increasingly guided by acidity rather than phenolic ripeness alone, while oak is used in proportion to the wine rather than as a defining feature. As a result, pinot noir is becoming one of the territory’s flagship wines.

The 2021 vintage is unquestionably the finest currently available on the market, offering exceptional density and completeness. The warmer 2022 vintage proved more challenging for both whites and reds, while 2023, despite considerable difficulties in the vineyard, ultimately benefited from a natural selection that yielded wines of remarkable quality. The first 2024 and 2025 releases appear lighter and, at times, somewhat simpler.

For clarity, we have organized our comments by grape variety, although it would be unfair not to acknowledge the beauty of some of the region’s classic chardonnays. Increasingly, however, Alto Adige’s ambition to produce complex, site-driven wines has elevated the status of blends.

At the top is the Cantina Terlan Alto Adige Terlaner I Grande Cuvée 2023 (99 points), a wine once likened to being the “Italian Corton-Charlemagne.” This is a refined and focused offering featuring a nose of graphite, peach pits, candied citrus, apricots and a hint of lemon leaves. It’s silky, super intense, savory, structured and tightly knit.

As we noted, gewurztraminer deserves to be rediscovered, and none more so than the J. Hofstätter Gewürztraminer Alto Adige Vigna Pirchschrait 2016 (99). “Try to get your hands on this incredibly refined gewurz with blanched almonds and hints of flint” James said of this perfumed and subtle wine that nonetheless shows great complexity with mind-bending balance and depth, not to mention “haunting” length.

The finest chardonnay we tasted was the tingling and tense Nals Margreid Chardonnay Alto Adige Nama 2023 (98): a minerally wine with aromas of struck match, firecrackers, cedar, lemon peel and pink grapefruit, among others. It shows a Puligny-like palate with a precision finish.

Among the many pinot noirs we sampled, special mention goes to the Vigna Roccolo Barthenau 2019 (98), also from J. Hofstätter. It’s an extremely perfumed wine with intense aromas of dark berries, red fruit, sandalwood and rosewood, as well as basalt. It’s from a pergola-trained vineyard planted in 1942 and James had just one word for it: “Wow.”

Alto Adige is in the midst of what could be called a golden age. Alongside its well-established reputation for producing wines that are precise, fresh and immediately accessible, the region is now presenting a serious portfolio of fine wines – layered, distinctive and capable of competing with the best from anywhere in the world. This is not only through its strong sense of identity, which has never been lacking, but increasingly through the very high quality and often genuine complexity of the wines.

Old-Vine Splendor from Chile

Senior editor Zekun Shuai is currently traveling and tasting his way through Chile, where he has tapped into the latest releases from the 2023 and 2024 vintages from a few premium wineries and brands such as Almaviva, Don Melchor, Baronesa P., Clos Apalta and VIK.

He also tasted a unique Itata cabernet sauvignon from a 1.9-hectare vineyard that was planted over 130 years ago, the Morandé Cabernet Sauvignon Valle de Itata Ranquil La Capilla (98). The 2024 vintage produced a unique version of this wine: it’s probably the lightest ever in color and weight but quintessentially concentrated in flavors and length, with pinot-like clarity and a blood-orange, citrusy character and vibrancy.

Morandé’s head winemaker, Ricardo Baettig, said that just like in Maipo and most parts of the Central Valley in Chile, the Itata and nearby Biobio regions also experienced a much cooler season in 2024, after the hot and dry 2023. It is a unique vintage and a year where the lightness and agility lend this rare, ungrafted cabernet sauvignon finesse and lots of drinkability.

For the 2024s that Zekun tasted from the premium sources in Puente Alto, the Almaviva Puente Alto (98) shows the coolness and the freshness of the vintage, with slightly brighter acidity and polished, sweet tannins from this year. Head winemaker Michel Friou said that after five years of drought, they were happy to see plenty of rain in 2024, most of which happened in winter and the beginning of spring as well as at the end of harvest, in May.

“It was very profitable water for the vines,” Friou said, adding that the temperatures were generally cool in the spring, with winter and summer warmer than usual.

A few other top wines from Chile’s 2024 and the much warmer and drier 2023 vintage have been published in the report, with the top wines from 2023, such as the VIK Valle de Cachapoal VIK 2023 (98) and Clos Apalta Valle de Apalta 2023 (97) showing elegance despite the difficulty of the vintage, which saw early picking and softer extraction.

Because of the warmth of 2023, cabernet sauvignon showed better and so took the lead in the blend of the VIK after two consecutive years featuring a higher percentage of cabernet franc. The 2023 has 63 percent cabernet sauvignon and 37 percent cabernet franc.

And don’t miss out on Viña Amelia’s 2025 vintage from Limari, which Zekun recently tasted in Hong Kong with head winemaker Marcelo Papa. It is likely the best vintage ever made from Amelia and features one of top chardonnays from Chile, the Viña Amelia Chardonnay Valle de Limarí Quebrada Seca 2025 (98).

– Aldo Fiordelli and Zekun Shuai contributed reporting.

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated during the past week by the JamesSuckling.com tasting team. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. Some will be included in upcoming tasting reports.

Note: You can sort the wines below by country, vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.

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