Epokale

SELECTION RANGE

The first Italian white wine to be awarded 100 points by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. Epokale sets itself apart from classic Alto Adige Gewürztraminers, redefines boundaries and is a perfect example of the capabilities of this grape.

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      This is the finest expression of late-harvest Gewürztraminer I have tasted from Italy – The 2009 Alto Adige Gewürztraminer Epokale is a wine of genius and inspiration. It represents the first 100-point Robert Parker Wine Advocate score awarded to an Italian wine outside of Tuscany and Piedmont.

Monica Larner, Agosto 2018

VINTAGE

YEARS OF MATURATION

YEARS OF AGING POTENTIAL

Gewürztraminer is our mission

Epokale is inspired by an old tradition. A wine with a sugar residual that can be well perceived, which used to give strength to the body and the soul. We have selected two of our oldest Gewürztraminer vineyards to produce it, near maso Nussbaumer.

Here, four kilometers aways from the opening of the gallery, it preserves its freshness and it gains elegance thanks to an environment that maintains constant humidity and temperature at 52 °F.

In order to develop its maximum expression, Epokale ages then in the dark for seven years in the Ridanna Monteneve mine, at over 6,500 feet of altitude.

APPELATION

Südtirol/Alto Adige DOC

VINTAGE

2016

vintage description

In spite of changeable temperatures in spring, bud break and flowering started around the average time for the last years. The damp months of May and June increased the danger of fungus infection. This demanded attention, sensitivity and hard work in the vineyard, and, thanks to intermittent sunny, drying days, this could be compensated for. This was followed by wonderfully dry weeks from the end of August on; in addition, warm days alternated with periodically very cool nights in September and October. This fantastic fall slowed the ripening process, and the harvest started about a week later than average. The maturity window was set perfectly and the harvest brought perfectly healthy grapes with optimum physiologic ripeness. The white wines present themselves very balanced, powerful, juicy and fresh, with complex structure. The red wines offer extraordinary ripe tannins and are fruity, powerful and balanced, with enormous depth.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

  • grapes:Gewürztraminer
  • yield: 28 hl/hectare
  • vineyards: two plots near the Nussbaumer farmhouse
  • altitude: 420 – 440 m
  • aspect: south-east
  • harvest: end of October
  • soil: calciferous gravel with loam on porphyry bedrock
  • age of the vines: oldest Guyot-vines, from over 20 years till nearly 30 years
  • climate: extreme interplay between sunny days, influenced by the Mediterranean climate, and the cool nights, marked by the cold downslope winds from the surrounding mountains
  • bottles produced: 2,100

winemaking

The grapes are harvested by hand into small bins, with careful attention to every berry, and gently pressed after a short period of maceration. After destemming and compaction, a short period of maceration at low temperature follows, then gentle pressing. Fermentation takes place slowly, for more than 4 weeks at a controlled temperature of 18°C, before it is stopped by cooling to 5°C for 10 days. The wine is then transferred into small stainless-steel tanks.

MATURATION
Maturation takes place in small steel tanks with constant contact with the lees for 8 months, whereas must is clarified through natural sedimentation of the particles. After bottling, the wine is carried to the Ridanna Monteneve mine, at over 2,000 m in altitude. Here, the wine ages in the dark for nearly 6 years, 4 km deep in the mine, in an environment that maintains constant 90% humidity and a temperature of 11°C all year long, with the air pressure the same as outdoors.

tasting notes

gleaming, intense golden yellow

intensive and impressive; rose petals, lavender, ripe exotic yellow fruits, honeydew, mango, passion fruit, peach, lychee; spicy notes of dried herbs: cloves, sage, ginger, saffron, cinnamon and nutmeg

strong showing, very elegant and graceful, enormous depth, deeply aromatic, rich in content and essence, but with delicately flavored succulence and salty minerality. Highly refined residual sweetness in harmony with mild acidity, a nearly endless finish.

serving temperature

12-14° C

residual sugar

64 g/l

total acidity

5.9 g/l

ABV

12.5 % vol

aging potential

over 20 years

bottle sizes

0.75 l

MOST RECENT AWARDS
Award Date Year Score
ROBERT PARKER – WINE ADVOCATE 2018 2009 100 punti
THE WINE JOURNAL 2023 2016 100 punti
JAMESSUCKLING.COM 2018 2009 97 punti
VINOUS-ANTONIO GALLONI 2018 2009 97 points
DECANTER 2024 2016 95 points

Selection range

Classic range