2022 Kellerei Cantina Terlan, Sauvignon Blanc “Quarz” Alto Adige – Terlano DOC, Italy.
The wonderfully aromatic, complex and mineral driven Quarz by Kellerei Cantina Terlan (Terlano) comes from the Alto Adige “Terlano” (DOC) zone with a variety of South and Southwest facing parcels, set on a volcanic quartz porphyry bedrock and sandy-loamy soils, with between 5 and 60% slopes, catching plenty of Alpine sunshine and giving ripe structure and plenty of structure. This light gold and flinty 2022 vintage really captures the terroir and varietal purity perfectly with lemon/lime, sour grass, gooseberry, tart peach, muskmelon and quince leading the way on the medium/full palate with leesy accents, a light hint of smoke, saline, lime blossom, wet stone and bitter almond notes. Again Terlan, maybe the best Co-Op on the on planet, delivers a brilliant wine with this pure, dry and sharply crisp Sauvignon Blanc Quarz, that was slow and cool fermented with temperature control in stainless steel tanks, after which it is aged on the lees for 6 plus months in a combination of stainless steel tanks (80%) and partly in big old oak barrels (20%). It was great to catch up with Terlan/Terlano, at this year’s Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri tasting earlier this year, as it does some fantastic stuff, as seen here in this Quarz Sauvignon bottling that I just recently got to try, so, as I’ve always suggested, I highly recommend this outstanding Alto Adige winery, which now even has its own distinctive DOC with this mountainous region.
The Terlan/Terlano winery, one of my favorite Alto Adige producers, especially for white wines like this one, but also they make one of the finest Sauvignon Blancs in the world, as seen here in this Quarz, and many other beautiful offerings, was founded back in 1893 in this mainly German speaking region of Italian’s far north Dolomite Mountains, an area known as the South Tyrol, connected to Austria by traditions and culture. Terlan/Terlano is a cooperative in function with some 143 small artisan growers providing grapes with a total focus on high quality over quantity, pushing for organics and sustainable practices, and their track record on wines is legendary, and these wines are amazingly age worthy bottlings, I have on many occasions tasted 20 to 30 year old whites, in particular their Chardonnay, that were incredible and exceptionally fresh. The Teraner Cuvée, which is a blend of Terlano’s three most traditional white varieties, namely (and mostly) Pinot Bianco, as well as Chardonnay and Sauvignon, and the winery says, this old cuvée, was one of the original wines produced when the winery was founded in the late 1800s, joins their elite set of offerings, like this Quarz (Sauvignon Blanc), the Kreuth (Chardonnay), the Lunare (Gewürztraminer), the Vorberg (Pinot Blanc) plus the other blended cuvée Nova Domus. Thee are fabulous white wines that you should discover as soon as possible, along with the regular Classic line that are more value priced, but seriously good. The elevated Cuvées have seen a price rise, do to tariffs and the limited nature of them, but they still are very much wines to search out.
($89 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive