At Cantina Kurtatsch, Tres was born

"The new Tres cuvée tells of our long history and our passion for great red wines and in particular Bordeaux varieties," says Andreas Kofler, president of Cantina Kurtatsch. - It is an expression of our connection to terroir and speaks of our roots, but also of our constant aspiration toward the future and our desire to redefine the limits of what is possible."

Every time I land in Alto Adige, I ask myself a question: what am I doing here? Nothing to do with Bruce Chatwin, but this is the land of the brave Cappelloni and Cernilli who "invented" the region some 30 years ago. Moreover, my admittedly vaguely Bordeaux-esque view with Ilcinese dependence on "wines are red and whites are sweet" should not help. Instead, I am perfect for the area of Cortaccia, an Alto Adige red enclave of the highest quality. Thanks to high temperatures, soils that are partly red loamy, others with skeleton and some clay that lend themselves well to the Merlot and Cabernet that the winery produces masterfully. 

It has been a hectic few years at Kurtatsch Winery with major investments and innovations on the wine front with significant quality growth. The new Cantina is marvelous both as an architecture, echoing the great rock face that supports the village, and as an operational functionality. All in engaging harmony with the land. The barrique cellar is worth a visit as is the beautiful terrace overlooking the valley, truly impressive. 

We were invited to present the new wine, Tres 2015, a Merlot-based blend with small intrusions of the two Cabernets, Franc and Sauvignon, pulled in just over 2,000 bottles. It comes from a selection of the best plots in the Brenntal vineyard for the Merlot while the Cabernets come from older plots in neighboring vineyards; Brenntal is a beautiful vineyard totally terraced with an incredible slope. The packaging is beautiful and the labels are all hand-painted by South Tyrolean painter Margit Pittschieler; an additional peculiarity, the colors are made from the soil of the Brenntal vineyard. It costs a lot: on the shelf about 180 euros. 

After a vertical of 5 vintages of Merlot Riserva Brenntal with the 2015 soaring followed by the 2019 and some limitation shown by the vintages over 15 years old, 5 covered bottles arrived and the party began. Directions: these were all Merlot-based wines from the 2015 vintage, how would the Tres come out? I was amazed, and with me many colleagues, at the excellent performance achieved given also the competitors: Château L'Evangile and Vieux Château Certain for France and two coastal Tuscans, Suvereto with Tua Rita Redigaffi and Bolgheri with Masseto. Tres went big with a very personal style, almost a bridge between transalpine olfactory classicism and juicy Tuscan flavor texture. A Mediterranean touch on a very intriguing alpine base. On my personal scale it came third but for some colleagues it was in second place. In short, a winning and convincing debut. Kudos to the staff.

Cantina Kurtatsch
AA Merlot Cabernet Riserva Tres 2015 

96/100 - € 180

77% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc e 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Matura 15 mesi in barrique e poi 9 mesi in botte grande. Rubino compatto. Olfatto intenso con la mora evidente, note mediterranee eleganti, carruba, bosco estivo e leggere spezie. Trama gustativa fitta con tannini di gran classe e una progressione elegante, saporita e dinamica. Ottimo il finale per intensità e coerenza olfattiva, non muscolare ma di grande eleganza e persistenza.

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