St. Michael-Eppan Sanct Valentin Pinot Noir Riserva 2019
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Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert - Vinous
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Aromas of small berries, violets and smoky vanilla. When aged: notes of porcini mushrooms and truffles. On the palate spicy, supple, seductive.
Ideal as an accompaniment to braised lamb shoulder or back, oxtail and strong cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A spicy, flavorful pinot with aromas of spiced cherries, cloves, nutmeg, porcini mushrooms and bark. Medium-bodied with tight-grained tannins. Toasty and delicious with a firm finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Opening to a mild garnet appearance, the St. Michael-Eppan 2019 Alto Adige Pinot Noir Riserva Sanct Valentin absolutely delivers the goods with wild strawberry, minty balsam herbs and candied peach or orange peel. The wine shows lots of floral intensity with earthy violet and iris root. This is a lean-bodied red with plenty of bright, lifted fruit on the close. Fruit comes from a high-elevation site ranging from 440 to 550 meters above sea level with gravel and calcareous soils and glacier deposits.Best After 2022.Rating: 94+
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Vinous
Musky dried cherries come together with lavender tones and flowery undergrowth to form an earthy yet truly inviting bouquet as the 2019 Pinot Noir Riserva Sanct Valentin comes to life in the glass. This is silky in feel yet far more lifted than anticipated, with mineral-tinged red berries and savory spices that cascade across a core of brisk acidity. It leaves rosy inner florals and sour citrus to linger, along with youthfully grippy tannins that frame the expression quite nicely. A bit of cellaring will be required here.
Other Vintages
2020-
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert
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Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert
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Suckling
James
For well over 2000 years, the area of South Tyrol has been fruitful for the cultivation of quality grapes in a unique Alpine environment. Within the heart is the village of Eppan where the St. Michael Eppan winery is located and has been producing some of the region's finest wines since its humble beginnings in 1908.
At the helm is Hans Terzer, who works closely with 330 individual growers to protect the quality of grapes that go into each of his wines. Many of these small growers only farm a hectare or two of vines and often maintain apple trees and vegetable gardens of their own. With the knowledge of Hans and the meticulous care of each grower the Eppan wines have gained tremendous notoriety since the late 1970s. Each passing vintage the Gambero Rosso awards its highest honor ‘Tre Bicchieri’ to numerous wines from this special winery. In particular they are highly recognized for the prestige of their Sanct Valentin line because of its premium fruit selection and prolonged barrel aging.
Since 1977 Hans Terzer has been the cellar's winemaker. He is one of the most important winemakers in Italy. In 1997 he was awarded by Gambero Rosso as one of the ten best winemakers in the world and for over 20 years he has been president of the association of the "Kellermeister" of South Tyrol. Over the years he has managed to convince members to adopt a rigorous quality-based philosophy over the years. This road has not always been easy, but with a lot of creativity, a good instinct and a lot of pride, he finally managed to make San Michele what it is today: one of the best wineries in Italy.
Thanks to the creativity of Hans Terzer, the San Michele Appiano winery has also carried out pioneering work, starting among the first in South Tyrol to make wine in barriques. But it is not enough, because he does not lack ideas for improvement. In fact, never rest on your laurels. So Hans Terzer's motto remains: "There is still a lot to do. We have to improve the quality, to get where we want: to the top of the world!"
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Wine by Region › Italy › Trentino-Alto Adige › Alto Adige
Taking full advantage of direct sunlight exposure on its steep slopes, many of Alto Adige’s best vineyards are planted at extreme altitude... read more