Alto Adige's Challenging 2014s and Promising 2015s

Two thousand fourteen proved to be an extremely challenging vintage for Alto Adige’s growers. Cool temperatures, a lack of sun and rain throughout the summer gave producers fits. My first look at the just bottled young 2015s suggest a much more promising and consistent vintage across the board. At their best, Alto Adige's wines deliver superb quality and a level of value matched by few regions in Italy.

2014 Overview

As I have done in most years, I spent the better part of a week in Alto Adige in mid-August. Temperatures were decidedly cool, while sunshine was elusive. Down on the valley floor producers were faced with a hard choice; pick unripe fruit and try to fix things later in the cellar, or risk losing everything to disease pressure that was mounting by the day because of the damp conditions. It was not a pretty sight to see the onset of harvest as my tastings were wrapping up. Growers with hillside vineyards fared better, as elevation and exposure permitted more circulation of air to stave off rot and at least a chance of grabbing what little sun was to be had.

With that as background, it might sound like 2014 was a disastrous vintage. That is not quite the case. Among other things, Alto Adige has a high concentration of technically skilled winemakers who could deal with the challenges of what was a very marginal growing season. Usually, the term ‘winemaker’s vintage’ is used to describe what talented growers can achieve through selection in the field in a tough year. Make no mistake about it, though, in Alto Adige, the 2014s were made in the cellars, not in the fields.

Starting with the whites, quality is naturally all over the place. There are only a few outstanding wines, but many that overachieve given the natural ceiling set by the vintage. At times, the 2014s were so piercing and bright, I thought I was tasting vins claires in Champagne rather than Alto Adige whites. A number of the better 2014s will benefit from some aeration to help soften the edges, yet most are likely to offer their best drinking within the next year or two at most.

I must say I was as surprised, and not positively, to see how many wineries bottled their top labels in 2014. If there was a vintage to take a strong stand on quality, 2014 was it. Clearly, managing finances and volumes, especially in a year in which farming costs are high, is not an easy task. Low yields and high expenses can really put the squeeze on wineries, especially those that are smaller in size, as so many are here. Still, I expected to see at least a few estates pass on bottling their top selections and use their best fruit to reinforce the more modest wines. I can’t think of a single case where a large winery made that decision. So far, I have only tasted a handful of 2014 reds, but the qualitative trend so far is roughly the same. Perhaps there will be some surprises from later-ripening reds from hillside sites. We will see.

VIneyards in Mazzon