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.
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 |
VINOUS-ANTONIO GALLONI | 2018 | 2009 | 97 points |
JAMESSUCKLING.COM | 2018 | 2009 | 97 punti |
DECANTER | 2024 | 2016 | 95 points |