The new Chardonnay Since 83 by Cantina Colterenzio

The new wine pays tribute to this variety so important in the history of the Alto Adige winery and recalls in its name that 1983 was the year when the first Chardonnay was produced.

Alto Adige is a region of contrasts: the point where northern and southern Europe meet, Germans and Italians, snow-covered mountains and fruitful valleys, Alpine and Mediterranean climates a unique region with authentic features, managed in harmony to produce wines that express the notable character of this territory.

Founded in 1960 by 26 winegrowers, Colterenzio is a modern and dynamic cooperative, named after the hamlet Schreckbichl in German, Colterenzio in Italian, where it is still located today. These winegrowers can be considered rebels but at the same time pioneers for right after the foundation of their own winery they were setting the course towards quality.

Today, 300 winegrowers along with a winemaking team at Colterenzio, continue this “quality path”, which started in the late 1980’s. The winegrowers passionately cultivate their grapes on a total of 300 hectares: the vineyards are located in one of the best wine growing areas of Alto Adige, on altitudes between 230 and 690 meters a.s.l., concentrating on 14 different grape varieties. Today, 35% of the wines at Colterenzio are red, 65% are white.

The most important role as white variety has always been played by Chardonnay, proven in the fact that Colterenzio has been one of the first wineries in Alto Adige to give importance to this grape variety. The first Chardonnay was in fact produced in 1983 and sold as “table wine” (as no other appellation was possible); one year after, in 1984, the grape variety obtained the DOC status in Alto Adige and this was the beginning of its recognition and success. In the following years, Colterenzio launched several Chardonnay wines in different lines and established itself as the 'Alto Adige Chardonnay Winery' par excellence.

The grapes for Colterenzio's Chardonnays are sourced mostly from Cornaiano and grown at an altitude of around 400-450 meters a.s.l.. These vines grow on dry, sandy, morainal soil with a medium structure. They are exposed to excellent ventilation, which ensures optimal airing of the grapes, protects them from sharp temperature drops in the spring and dries the berries quickly after rain, so that in early autumn, healthy grapes can mature for a long time on the vine.

With the 2022 vintage, Colterenzio releases, for the first time, a new Chardonnay named 'since 83'. Martin Lemayr, winemaker of Cantina Colterenzio, explains how this milestone was achieved: "Many of our 300 members grow Chardonnay: the very best grapes from the oldest vines are used to create the Bianco Riserva LR - a white blend with a predominance of Chardonnay – some others are dedicated to the Chardonnay Lafóa, one of our top wines that makes part of the prestigious Lafóa line. With all the remaining grapes we used to produce the Chardonnay Altkirch from the classic line. Many of these grapes are of a much higher quality and so in 2022 we vinified a part of them separately to see if there could have been a better positioning for them." After gentle pressing, the wine was aged exclusively in wooden barrels. "Unlike the Chardonnay Lafóa, we only used large wooden barrels for this wine. Specifically, the wine matures mostly in 35-50 hl oak vessels, and, for a small percentage, in used 500-litre tonneaux", Lemayr reports. "This was initially a test, but after tasting several times from the barrels, we immediately realized that the quality was at the right level to be included it in the Selection range," announces the winemaker. For the last 7 months, the wine has rested on the lees, undergoing periodic bâtonnage. After bottling in May, the wine was aged for another month until the beginning of June, finally arriving on the market about 8 months after the harvest.

"1983 was the year we produced our first Chardonnay. Since then, some of our most important, most well-known and most prestigious wines have been created from this variety. By naming the new Chardonnay 'since 83,' we wanted to pay homage to the starting point of this long, pioneering journey”, explains Alex Ferrigato, sales director of Colterenzio, as he goes into details regarding its name.

The most important question was in the end for Martin Lemayr: how is the new Chardonnay? "Ripe fruit aromas, such as honey-dew melon, pineapple, yellow peach and banana, stands out in the foreground, which finely intertwined by a nice hint of hazelnut and fine notes of vanilla. The result is a very harmonious, balanced wine with a very well-integrated acidity."

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