The Cantina Terlano winery has a traditional focus on long-living wines. White wines from Terlano in particular have repeatedly hit the headlines in trade publications with their ability to outlast the decades. The longevity of the wines is due to a combination of the high mineral content of the soils, old vines growing in complete harmony, carefully managed vineyards with low yields per vine, and the rigorous selection of heathy and fully mature grapes. Wine-making in Terlano traditionally involves the use of wooden barrels. Special emphasis is also placed on the “sur lie” method, with the wines often left to age on the yeast for years before being bottled and left to slowly mature to perfection. The slow maturation process gives the wines their specific character and complexity. The focus is on developing the complex secondary and tertiary aromas rather than the primary aromas. Proof of the benefits of this approach is to be found in the winery’s wine archive, which contains over 100,000 bottles in a collection of rarities comprising various vintages from 1955 to the present. Some of the wines actually date from 1893, the year the winery was founded.
Winemaker Notes: “A composition of Terlano’s three most traditional white varieties, namely Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay and Sauvignon, this old cuvée, which was one of the wines produced when the winery was founded, is an extremely complex wine. Pinot Bianco, as the main variety used in the cuvée, provides the freshness and a good acid structure, while Chardonnay delivers a pleasing warmth and mellowness and Sauvignon Blanc adds the fine aromatic character.”
Blend is 60% Pinot Bianco, 30% Chardonnay, 10% Sauvignon Blanc.
Vinification: Manual harvest and selection of the grapes; pressing and clarification of the must by natural sedimentation; slow fermentation at a controlled temperature in stainless steel tanks, aging on the lees for 6 - 7 months partly in stainless steel tanks (80%) and partly in big wooden barrels (20%).
Food pairing: A traditional regional choice with Terlano wine soup, raw white asparagus salad, typical dishes like pizza and pasta with tomato sauce or foccaccia with rosemary or penne all'arrabbiata; parmesan and fresh pecorino; also with South Tyrolean dishes like bacon dumplings or sausage with sauerkraut, and with turkey breast with root vegetables or a fine veal roast.
Producer: Cantina Terlan
Country: Italy
Region: Trentino-Alto Adige
Varietal: Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc
Appellation: Terlano
Vintage: 2021
Size: 750ml
