Vintage 2025

The Pendolino is the "servant" among the olive varieties – and at the same time the indispensable one. It owes its name to its characteristically drooping branches, but its importance lies in its role as a pollinator: the flowers produce enormous quantities of pollen and thus enable the other varieties to bear fruit. In many groves, the Pendolino is a silent helper whose own oil is hardly ever bottled. At Felsina it is allowed to shine. The trees are in the Poderi Valli (planted in 1986) and Arcidosso (2005), cold-resistant and early-maturing. It is the first variety to be harvested, it is de-seeded (denocciolato) and pressed at 25 degrees.

If the Correggiolo epitomises the Tuscan elemental force, the Leccino is its elegant sister. A variety that is widespread throughout Italy – robust, cold-resistant, reliable in yield and early ripening. But at Felsina, where it has been growing in the groves of Fèlsina, Pagliarese and Boschi since the 1960s, it shows its finest face: an oil of medium intensity that emphasises balance over strength. The olives are harvested by hand earlier than the other varieties, when they are just beginning to ripen. They are pitted within four hours and pressed at 25 degrees centigrade – only the pulp, no stone (denocciolato). The oil rests under nitrogen in stainless steel and is only vacuum-packed when ordered.

Probably the most famous Lugana from the southern shore of Lake Garda – i Frati is the flagship of the estate. Made from 100% Turbiana from calcareous moraine soils, it combines regional typicity with fine modern precision. Brilliant straw yellow in the glass with greenish reflections. Fresh citrus fruit, white peaches, pears and a hint of almond blossom on the nose, complemented by delicate herbal notes. Clear and juicy on the palate, with lively, well-integrated acidity, fine flavour and a subtle mineral vein that lends freshness and depth in equal measure. The final is long, elegant and characterised by citrus fruit. A timeless classic that brings the terroir of the Lugana region perfectly into the glass – stylish, stimulating to drink and with assured ageing potential. SUPERIORE.DE

The Winkl has been vinified as a single variety since 1956 – at a time when Sauvignon Blanc was still a rarity in South Tyrol. Winery manager Rudi Kofler says that this grape variety has always felt at home around the oldest farms in the Terlan DOC area. You believe him when you taste the wine. The vineyards lie at 280 to 580 metres above sea level, exposed to the south-southwest, on steep to very steep slopes. The soil is quartz porphyry – volcanic primary rock, crystalline-mineral, with a slightly acidic pH value and an almost natural self-limitation in yields. It is precisely this microstress that produces the terroir's own polyphenols, which give Terlano wines their characteristic saltiness and tension. No other soil, no other result. Hand-picked, gentle whole-cluster pressing, slow fermentation – then 7 to 8 months on the fine lees, 80 per cent in steel, 20 per cent in large wooden barrels. This silent wood component only serves the texture, it gives the wine substance without masking its origin.