Cantina Terlan

"St. Magdalener, a traditional cuvée made from the two indigenous grape varieties Vernatsch and Lagrein, once not only played a very important role in South Tyrolean viticulture, but was also one of the most famous Italian red wines. But even today, this fine, fruity and characteristically stylish red wine, which is named after the growing area around the wine village of St. Magdalena, has many fans and is currently being rediscovered by many a connoisseur." Rudi Kofler (cellar master Cantina Terlano)

Pinot Blanc is not a fad in Terlan. It is the foundation. The grape variety around which cellar master Rudi Kofler has been thinking for decades is Pinot Bianco – and no other place in Italy produces it as clearly, as long-lived, as unmistakably as these slopes. The vineyards lie at 350 to 900 metres, on steep to very steep slopes on Monte Tschöggl – higher and cooler than most other Terlan parcels. Quartz porphyry, hand-picked, gentle pressing, slow fermentation in steel, 6–7 months on the fine lees.

Kretzer – that sounds rougher than the wine is. The old South Tyrolean word for rosé, once derived from the tart freshness of unripe berries, now has a completely different character: fruity, lively, with the unmistakable temperament of Lagrein. Because Lagrein is pure South Tyrol – an indigenous grape variety that has been at home between Bolzano and Terlano for centuries. As a rosé wine, it shows a side that the strong red wine does not always reveal: Lightness, freshness, accessibility. The grapes grow at an altitude of 250 to 280 metres in the flat, sunny vineyards around Terlan. Hand-picked, gentle pressing of the whole bunches, slow fermentation in steel – 6 to 7 months on the fine lees.

Lagrein – the "local hero" of South Tyrol, as cellar master Rudi Kofler calls it. Originally native to Bolzano, this indigenous grape variety has long since found a home in the Terlan area. Founded in 1893, the winery, the first co-operative in the village and today one of the most prestigious addresses for South Tyrolean white wines, also cultivates this traditional red variety with its own meticulousness. Harvested by hand, destemmed and fermented at a controlled temperature in stainless steel, the wine then matures for 7–10 months in large wooden barrels. This ageing process gives the Lagrein its velvety structure without overpowering the fruit.

Pinot Grigio is sometimes mass-produced in northern Italy. Millions of bottles, pale style, interchangeable. And then there is the Cantina Terlan, alongside a few other serious winegrowers. At 270 to 350 metres, on the gently sloping porphyry slopes around Terlan, the Ruländer – as its old, more appropriate name – tells a different story. Hand-picked, gentle pressing, slow fermentation in steel, 5-7 months on the fine lees: a vinification that gives the grape variety room to show itself.

Tramin, a small village in the South Tyrolean lowlands – and one of the great namesakes of the wine world. It is here, at the foot of the Dolomites, that Gewürztraminer originated. It is no coincidence that the Cantina Terlan has included this wine in its "Tradition" line: it is part of the region's DNA. The grapes grow at an altitude of 270 to 450 metres, in vineyards between the Alpine north and the Mediterranean south – a location that creates pronounced temperature differences between day and night and gives Gewürztraminer precisely the tension that distinguishes it from its fuller-bodied relatives. Hand-picked, gentle pressing, slow fermentation in steel, 6–7 months on the lees.

Some wines have a history. This one has a founding history. The Terlaner Cuvée (formerly Classico) was already there in 1893, when 24 winegrowers founded a cooperative in the small village of Terlan – with the conviction that more is possible together than alone. Over 130 years later, this idea remains unchanged, as does the wine. 60 per cent Pinot Bianco, 30 per cent Chardonnay, 10 per cent Sauvignon Blanc – the three great white Terlans in an assemblage that cellar master Rudi Kofler describes as compositional logic: Pinot Bianco provides freshness and acid structure, Chardonnay the ripe warmth and fullness, Sauvignon Blanc the fine aromatic play. Not a product of chance, but a wine with architecture. The grapes grow at 280 to 700 metres above sea level, on the characteristic quartz porphyry of Terlan – volcanic primary rock, which gives the wines their salty minerality and exceptional longevity.

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.

Siebeneich is not a fantasy name. The small village to the west of Bolzano gives its name to the wine – and itself bears one of the oldest wine stories in South Tyrol. Archaeologists found vine knives from the late Iron Age here, which are considered the oldest evidence of prehistoric Weinwirtschaft in the region. Merlot on this soil: a young grape variety on ancient ground. Cellar master Rudi Kofler says that Merlot grows best in Terlan on the warm, south-facing clay slopes. This is exactly where Siebeneich is located – a terroir that gives this international variety the substance to tell the story of South Tyrol instead of imitating Bordeaux. Hand-picked, destemming, slow maceration in steel, malolactic fermentation – then 12 months of ageing: 70 per cent in large wooden barrels, 30 per cent in barriques, one third of which are new. Power with control.

Lagrein and Gries belong together like Nebbiolo and Barolo. The Bolzano district of Gries is the ancestral home of this indigenous South Tyrolean grape variety – first mentioned in writing in 1379, since then hardly anywhere else as convincing as here. Rudi Kofler puts it in a nutshell: "The alluvial soils of Gries are ideal for Lagrein. Because the Gries terroir is unlike anything else in Terlan. No steep slopes, no porphyry rock – but flat, post-glacial alluvial soil in the sunny Bolzano valley basin, where the Adige, Eisack and Talfer rivers meet and summer temperatures of up to 40 degrees are not uncommon. Loamy-sandy soils, lime-free, brooding. A terroir that gives Lagrein warmth and ripeness without taking away its tension. Hand-picked, destemming, slow maceration in steel, malolactic fermentation – then 12 months of ageing: half in large wooden barrels and half in barriques, one third of which is new. Precision meets depth.

Pinot Noir is the most demanding grape variety in the world. It forgives nothing – no wrong soil, no climate that is too warm, no impatient hand in the cellar. It has found its place in Terlan: Since the middle of the 19th century, Pinot Noir has thrived in the medium-high sites of the Monticol zone, at 450–760 metres, on light, weathered porphyry soils, where downdraughts provide cooling even at the height of summer. Rudi Kofler has long since said the decisive sentence: "The older vineyards produce a well-structured and, above all, elegant Pinot Noir." Elegance is not a marketing term here – it is the logical consequence of the location, soil and ripening process.

Vorberg – the name reveals the location: on the steep southern slopes of the Tschöggelberg, between 450 and 650 metres above sea level, a Pinot Blanc thrives that reveals the full potential of this famous South Tyrolean grape variety. The skeleton-rich, sandy-loamy soils from porphyry weathering with their high quartz content and slightly acidic pH values characterise a terroir of extremes: high water permeability, limited nutrient availability, naturally limited yields. Microstress that elicits unique, terroir-specific polyphenols from the vines. Hand-picking, gentle whole-cluster pressing, natural sedimentation. Slow fermentation takes place at a controlled temperature in large oak barrels (70 and 30 hl), followed by partial malolactic fermentation and 12 months maturation on the fine lees in traditional wooden barrels.

A ruined castle towers above the entrance to the village of Terlan. First mentioned in a document in 1206, much has changed since then – the languages, the borders, the owners. What has remained is the porphyry rock, the northern foehn and the will to make wine here that does the place justice. Nova Domus – new house. Founded in 1893 by 24 winegrowers with the simple aim of being better together than alone.

Gewürztraminer has a place name in its name – and thus a whole story. Tramin, a small village in the South Tyrolean lowlands, is considered the original home of this grape variety, whose aromatic power has fascinated and polarised people in equal measure for centuries. Those who like it, love it. Those who know it know that in the wrong hands it becomes a caricature. At the Cantina Terlan, it is something else. The Lunare is the pinnacle of this interpretation. Grown at 300–400 metres in south-west-facing porphyry vineyards, where downdraughts and pronounced day-night temperature differences give Gewürztraminer exactly what it needs: aromatic precision instead of perfumed richness. The name hints at what the wine fulfils – something noctilucent, cool, unreal and clear.

Some wines have a history. This one has a founding history. The Terlaner Cuvée (formerly Classico) was already there in 1893, when 24 winegrowers founded a cooperative in the small village of Terlan – with the conviction that more is possible together than alone. Over 130 years later, this idea remains unchanged, as does the wine. 60 per cent Pinot Bianco, 30 per cent Chardonnay, 10 per cent Sauvignon Blanc – the three great white Terlans in an assemblage that cellar master Rudi Kofler describes as compositional logic: Pinot Bianco provides freshness and acid structure, Chardonnay the ripe warmth and fullness, Sauvignon Blanc the fine aromatic play. Not a product of chance, but a wine with architecture. The grapes grow at 280 to 700 metres above sea level, on the characteristic quartz porphyry of Terlan – volcanic primary rock, which gives the wines their salty minerality and exceptional longevity.

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.

Impressively structured Chardonnay from the Kreuth estate. The western vineyard produces a very elegant wine that impresses with its fine acidity, creamy structure and elegant interplay of flavours. Bright, radiant straw yellow in colour. Complex and balanced, with an abundance of tropical fruit, underlined by a sensual salty minerality. Long and persistent. SUPERIORE.DE

Born of fire. This is how the Cantina Terlan describes the red porphyry rock, between whose slopes the vineyards have nestled like small sun terraces. The rock is of volcanic origin, millions of years old, and it gives the area its unmistakable character – the wines their minerality, the cellar its façade, the wine its name. The porphyry is Terlan's red answer to the question of what Lagrein can be if you think it through to the end. No compromises. Three selected single vineyard sites, whose vines are almost a century old. Old vines yield little – but what they do yield is the sum of a long life in the grape flesh. Manual harvesting, destemming, slow maceration in steel – and then: 18 months exclusively in barrique, a third of which is new. No large wooden barrels, no compromises. Only barrique, only concentration, only depth.

The name says it all – and rarely has a wine deserved its name so consistently. Quartz: a mineral that was formed in fire, has survived for millions of years and is still visible today in Terlan's soils as a fine speckle in the volcanic porphyry rock. 55 to 60 per cent quartz content, slightly acidic pH value, skeleton-rich sandy-loamy structure without carbonate – a soil that allows water to pass through, rations nutrients and puts the vine under controlled stress. This micro-stress is not a deficiency. It is intentional. It forces the plant to produce terroir-specific polyphenols, which give the wine the savoury tension for which Terlan is internationally renowned.

Beneath the village of Terlan, on the slopes of the Adige Valley, lies a geological secret. A sub-volcanic rock that differs in composition and character from anything known to the wine world. The porphyry is the foundation – volcanic, millions of years old, interspersed with fine quartz inclusions. The resulting soils are sandy-loamy, slightly acidic, free of lime and poor in nutrients. Highly water-permeable, naturally yield-limiting. A soil that stresses the vine – and forces it to dig deeper, become more concentrated, more mineralised. Since 1893, 143 members of the Cantina Terlan have been cultivating these slopes. What they do here is unique in the world of wine: white wines that last for decades, whose longevity is reminiscent of the Grands Crus of the Côte d'Or. Cellar master Rudi Kofler named the quartz after the rock to which it owes everything. "Delicate like the fine quartz inclusions in the Terlan porphyry – that is our Sauvignon." Fine texture. Depth. Salty finish.