In the area of Terlano wine was produced at least in the 6th century B.C. as it dates back to that time a characteristic billhook for the vine pruning, very similar to those still used in those areas, in the subzone “Siebenheich/Settequerce” (= seven oaks). On the other hand, that this was a particularly well-suited area, was also known by the large landowners who held the monopoly in the 19th century Precisely to escape this monopoly, a group of 24 small winegrowers founded, in 1893, the Cantina Sociale di Terlano, a reality that has expanded including 143 members, who cultivate 190 hectares of vineyards, with the help of wine maker Rudi Kofler, and the supervision of President Georg Eyrl. At the beginning, one of the first decisions taken by the winery against the trend was to characterize the production line with a massive presence of white wines (about 70%), while in South Tyrol at the end of the 19th century about 80% of production was made of red wines. Another characteristic of the winery was, right from the start, the choice to vinify long-lived wines, made possible thanks to the long periods of aging on the fine lees that gave it greater character and complexity. This longevity comes from the composition of the lands in which the lean and draining soil, and the quartz skeleton of volcanic origin, determine pH values more acidic than normal, yields for plant naturally lower, and great polyphenolic richness.
In order to exalt these characteristics, Terlano has been offering wines with much longer aging than usual, in the famous Rarity line to which Chardonnay 2000 also belongs. It is a wine drawn in about 3300 units, obtained from southwest facing vineyards, at an altitude of 350 meters above sea level, cultivated on steep terrain, with an average slope of 30-50%, within the DOC Alto Adige Terlano. After the manual harvest and a first selection in the plant, the grapes were pressed in whole clusters and clarified by spontaneous decanting. The slow alcoholic fermentation, at a controlled temperature, in steel tanks, was followed by the malolactic fermentation and a first one-year aging, on the lees, in large wooden barrels. After the first aging the wine was left to mature for another 11 years, always on fine yeasts, in special steel tanks.
In the glass the wine shows a straw color with some nuances tending to greenish, and an olfactory fan that opens on notes of mango, dried apricot, chlorophyll and toasted hazelnut, followed by peach in syrup, chamomile, wet flint and burnt bone, with conclusive echoes of roasting and hydrocarbons. The palate develops alternating sapidity and acidity, within a frame made of softness and a hint of white pepper; all enriched by the return of yellow fruit and, above all, bone and hydrocarbons, that accompany the sip until a long and juicy closure.
Rating: 95/100
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