Why This Italian Pinot Noir From Alto Adige Could Lure Burgundy Lovers

This story is from an installment of The Oeno Files, our weekly insider newsletter to the world of fine wine. Sign up here.

“Pinot Noir is a very demanding variety and not suitable for weak minds,” Martin Foradori Hofstätter, owner of Tenuta J. Hofstätter in Alto Adige, Italy, said when he spoke with us for our book Red Wine. “Pinot Noir spurs the winemaker to peak performances. Pinot Noir is a diva. If you think you know everything about Pinot Noir, you will be astonished by the unexpected.” In the right hands, it’s a grape capable of greatness—and stratospheric prices, especially in its ancestral home. If fans of this red are reeling from sticker shock in Burgundy, it’s worth visiting Hofstätter’s slice of northern Italy. The Alto Adige region will not only satisfy Burgundy lovers’ cravings but also may make them lifelong devotees of what’s known locally as Pinot Nero.

The northernmost province in Italy, bordering Austria and Switzerland and straddling the Alps and Dolomites, Alto Adige has a dual personality. Part of the Austro-Hungarian empire before being ceded to Italy in 1919, its German moniker is Südtirol (South Tyrol), and many of the local winemaking families have German surnames rather than ones we might identify as Italian. Its position between northern and southern Europe offers the advantage of soaring mountains that protect vines from cold air masses and rain from the north, while a series of valleys that usher in maritime air currents from Lake Garda and the Mediterranean bring in warmth and humidity. Known for a range of varieties popular in Germany and Austria such as Riesling, Kerner, and Müller-Thurgau—as well as Italian favorites such as Pinot Grigio and Lagrein—Alto Adige also grows grapes of French origin such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir, which is the most widely cultivated red grape in the region.

“These are mountain wines, shaped by significant temperature swings between day and night, yet produced in places that today are undeniably warm. For this reason, they are wines that are always aromatically ripe,” says Andrea Lonardi, co-author of Italianity: The Culture of Italian Wine. “The soils of Alto Adige are decidedly less calcareous than those of Burgundy; they are looser soils, and for this reason the wines tend to have more diffuse, softer tannins.” A viticulturist, winemaker, and consultant, Lonardi likes to serve Alto Adige Pinot Nero at a slightly cooler temperature than those from Burgundy. His co-author Jessica Dupuy tells us, “The region’s steep vineyards and dramatic day to night shifts give Pinot Noir ripeness without heaviness with red-fruited, earthy, and floral notes threaded with Alpine herbs, bitter amaro-like botanicals, and a succulent tension.”

One of the best examples is Cantina Girlan Trattmann Riserva, an expression of two of the region’s most prestigious crus, Mazon and Girlan, which offer strong geological differences. Winemaker Gerhard Kofler says the Trattmann farm in Mazon is characterized by deep clay and limestone soils, which provide structural power and longevity, while the Girlan cru contributes elegance through its unique mix of glacial deposits and volcanic rock embedded with crystals in a fine-grained matrix. Sitting at elevations between 1,250 and 1,750 feet, the vineyards are blessed with strong, hot sunlight during the day and significant nighttime temperature declines. “This environment creates a tension in the grapes, allowing them to achieve phenolic ripeness while retaining vibrant mountain freshness,” Kofler explains.

Cantina Kurtatsch Mazon Alto Adige DOC Pinot Nero Riserva is fully sourced from the Mazon UGA (Additional Geographical Unit), often referred to in Italy as a cru. “The high plateau offers a cool microclimate, with reduced sun exposure and constant airflow. Despite the relatively moderate altitude, the north-east orientation ensures remarkable freshness and elegance,” says winemaker Erwin Carli, who points out that the vineyard’s sandy, loamy conglomerate soils with clay, minerals, and oxides give the wine elegance and depth. Although Carli believes that the wide range of terroir and differing winemaking regimes account for a broad variety of expressions among the region’s Pinot Nero, he tells Robb Report, “What unites Alto Adige Pinot Nero in general is its elegance, freshness and precision rather than power or concentration.”

Jakob Gasser, winemaker at St. Michael-Eppan (whose top bottle is Sanct Valentin Pinot Nero Riserva), says his vineyards’ calcareous and loamy soils provide “the structural elegance Pinot Nero demands.” In addition to the strong shift in day-to-night temperatures, he also credits the cool evening downdrafts that sweep over the vineyards daily, as an important ingredient in his wine. “These chilly nights and cooler temperatures during the harvest window allow for a slower, more balanced ripening process,” he says. Grapes for Sanct Valentin are harvested by hand and fermented in stainless steel before being moved into a combination of standard and large barrels for one year. “This 12-month wood aging adds subtle complexity without masking the varietal character,” Gasser says.

A light touch of oak is one of the hallmarks of the region; at Kurtatsch, Carli limits the use of new wood “to preserve the purity of the fruit and the subtle aromatic profile of the wine,” while Girlan’s Kofler matures his Trattmann Riserva in French and Slavonian oak barrels of varying sizes, followed by eight months of bottle refinement. “These wines are crafted with a genuine focus on balance: You get all that expressive fruit and freshness without the wine being masked by overutilized oak,” says Chris Gaither, wine director at Caribbean steakhouse Maroon by Kwame Onwuachi in Las Vegas. He likes to serve Cantina Girlan’s Pinot Noir alongside curried goat agnolotti or jerk chicken. “At Maroon, we feature items that are delicious and a bit off the beaten path, which suits this wine perfectly. The wine’s ripe fruit and soft baking spices are a natural match for the jerk seasoning.” Dupuy keeps the pairings closer to the wine’s home, suggesting speck, smoked and cured ham that is served locally on rye flatbread with horseradish sauce. That’s the beauty of wine from a region known for its duality; with ideal balance of soft tannins and fresh acidity, Alto Adige Pinot Nero offers lovers of the grape a world of choices. Even better, while approachable in youth, the best bottlings evolve gracefully for five to 10 years or more, making them an intriguing alternative for collectors seeking Pinot Noir that combines elegance with a distinctly Italian Alpine identity.

See Also

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Lesser Known Wine That’s a Relative Steal

Do you want access to rare and outstanding reds from Napa Valley? Join the Robb Report 672 Wine Club today.