Winemaker Notes
The 2019 Monticol Riserva Pinot Noir is an intensive ruby red. The Pinot Noir presents itself as a multifaceted wine on the nose, where the delicate primary fruit aromas of wild strawberries, raspberry and cherry blend with restrained elegant spicy notes and aromas of flint. Well-balanced with a mineral elegance that makes it dance on the palate. This red wine has a long and exciting finish.
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Cantina Terlano is making great strides with the Burgundian grape. The 2019 Alto Adige Pinot Noir Riserva Monticol is beautifully fragrant and delicate with a full bouquet of wild berry aromas, violet, iris root and candied orange skin. The wine prizes intensity of aromas but also underlines a gentle and fragile approach. It is fermented (with malolactic fermentation) in barrique and botte. This vintage hits it out of the ballpark. Best after 2023.
-
James Suckling
What a beautiful fragrance this very elegant Alpine pinot noir has! Fine red-berry and dried orange-peel aromas with delicate spice from oak. Wonderful integration of generous body and fine tannins, building gently at the long, structured finish. From vineyards between 500 and 600 meters above sea level.
-
Vinous
The darkly alluring 2019 Pinot Noir Riserva Monticol opens slowly in the glass, with crushed rocks, flint and dusty dried roses fading to black cherries and clove. This is like pure silk on the palate, yet with a saline core that adds savory depths. A cascade of juicy wild berry fruits flesh out across the palate. The 2019 Monticol tapers off with staining concentration and a coating of sweet tannins, yet it remains remarkably vibrant, lingering with hints of licorice and exotic spice. The Monticol is refined in a combination of large casks (30%) and barriques (70%) for a year prior to bottling.
Located in the Dolomite Mountains in the foothills of the Alps, Terlano's distinctive location and extraordinary terroir are key to the development of their stunning, world-renowned wines. Situated in a sheltered hollow, Terlano benefits from an ideal south-facing exposure. Vineyard slopes ranging from 250m-900m ASL provide perfect conditions for the cultivation of grapes, especially Lagrein, a variety that is indigenous to the Alto Adige region. In the vineyard, red porphyry rocks with high mineral content retain the day's warmth, while the porous soil creates an environment with just enough moisture for the roots to extend deeper into this mineral-rich soil. In combination with cool evening temperatures, these factors create wines of incredible depth and potential for aging.
Founded in 1893, Cantina Terlano has grown into one of the leading wine growers' cooperatives in the Alto Adige region of northeastern Italy. With a current membership of 143 growers farming a total area of 165 hectares, Terlano ensures the highest standards of quality by compensating growers for the quality of their grapes not the quantity. The emphasis in the vineyard is on reducing yield in favor of producing more concentrated fruit.
Terlano produces 70 percent white wines and 30 percent red wines, all of them of DOC quality designation. Following a winery renovation in 2009, the cellars now include a total of 18,000m of storage space, which ensures that the wines can develop undisturbed. On the outside, the building has a natural exterior of red porphyry, the stone that gives the wines in the area their typical character. The roof of the winery is planted with vines so that the building blends in completely with the surrounding countryside.
Terlano wines are classified in four distinct quality lines: Tradition, Selection, Rarity and Primo. Terlano wines are famous for their incredible depth and complexity and their stellar reputation continues to make these wines highly sought after both at home and internationally.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
A mountainous northern Italian region heavily influenced by German culture, Trentino-Alto Adige is actually made up of two separate but similar regions: Alto Adige and Trentino.
Trentino, the southern half, is primarily Italian-speaking and largely responsible for the production of non-native, international grapes. There is a significant quantity of Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Merlot produced. But Trentino's native and most unique red variety, Teroldego, while still rare, is gaining popularity. It produces a deeply colored red wine rich in wild blackberry, herb, coffee and cocoa.
The rugged terrain of German-speaking Alto Adige (also referred to as Südtirol) focuses on small-scale viticulture, with great value placed on local varieties—though international varieties have been widely planted since the 1800s. Sheltered by the Alps from harsh northerly winds, many of the best vineyards are at extreme altitude but on steep slopes to increase sunlight exposure.
Dominant red varieties include the bold, herbaceous Lagrein and delicate, strawberry-kissed, Schiava, in addition to some Pinot Nero.
The primary white grapes are Pinot grigio, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay and Pinot blanc, as well as smaller plantings of Sauvignon blanc, Müller Thurgau. These tend to be bright and refreshing with crisp acidity and just the right amount of texture. Some of the highest quality Pinot grigio in Italy is made here.