Hans’ dream

I have been friends with Hans Terzer, the kellermeister maximus of Cantina Produttori di St. Michael-Eppan, for 20 years. He is a great, skilled and charismatic professional, a drill sergeant who is always harder on himself than on his collaborators. A true perfectionist. ‘’I thought about making a wine like Appius for years before actually producing it,’’ he tells me with pride. ‘’Each version will be different because I want to express the best we can offer here in Appiano year after year’’. Chardonnay is the base for the 2010 blend which also includes Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio and a touch of Sauvignon. The blend for 2011 could be the same or it could be different. ’’One of these years I will make an Appius with just Pinot Nero,’’ he threatens/promises.

Appius 2010 is a magnificent wine. And even if the ‘ancien regime’ bottle seem a bit heavy, this is what Hans wanted and he is not one to be questioned. What is important is what is inside the bottle and here there is nothing to question either. The different grapes are vinified separately, always in barriques, and the wines sit on the lees for about a year. They are then blended together and age for three years in steel vats. The result is a white wine with a bright yellow color and complex aromas which are mostly fruity with notes of pineapple, yellow plum and white peach. There is also a light vanilla scent in the background and a few that recall the aromas of Sauvignon. The flavor is bold, harmonious, saline and peremptory in its technical perfection and the way it express both the grapes and the land at the same time. A great ‘Terzer-style’ wine that is not cheap, costing more than 90 euros retail, but which right now is one of the best whites in Italy. For me, as well as Dario Cappelloni, it was well-worth a 96/100 rating. But with aging it could go even higher.