Pinot Blanc Hofstatt – 2023

The Hofstatt Pinot Bianco single-vineyard wine from Cantina Kurtatsch, aged in oak barrels

The Hofstatt Pinot Bianco from Cantina Kurtatsch is a single-vineyard wine from South Tyrol, grown on a steep slope above the village of Kurtatsch. It is not a blend of many plots, nor is it a heavy, oak-dominated wine, but rather a Pinot Bianco aged for nine months in large oak barrels.

The Hofstatt Pinot Bianco from Cantina Kurtatsch is the single-vineyard wine of the Terroir line, bottled in 750 milliliters and produced as a dry wine. Hofstatt is the name of the slope, whose sand and gravel soils contain dolomite, quartz, mica, and clay minerals. This provenance provides delicate apple fruit, ripe lime, and lemon balm, supported by 13.5 percent alcohol and a texture rounded off by the oak barrel.

Golden core and supple texture

The Hofstatt appears straw-yellow with a golden core in the glass, visibly deeper in color than a Pinot Bianco from a pure stainless steel tank.

The nose offers delicate apple fruit, ripe lime, and lemon balm, followed by notes of alpine flowers and herbs. On the palate, it is supple and broad without losing its tension, and the salty minerality of the slope emerges in the long finish.

The lively acidity does not lead the way, but rather runs beneath the texture. That is the difference made by nine months in large oak barrels. A Pinot Bianco without this detour through wood remains leaner and is forgotten more quickly.

With arctic char and aged mountain cheese

This single-vineyard wine demands food, for as a pure aperitif, you give away its true character. The price for this is a wine that seems a bit unoccupied at a bare table.

It finds its counterpart with cured arctic char, veal sweetbreads, and aged mountain cheese, and it effortlessly holds its own against a porcini mushroom risotto. It should be served warmer than a simple Pinot Bianco—at twelve to fourteen degrees—otherwise, the fruit remains closed.

Those who wish to continue with a red can opt for the Pinot Noir from the same producer, or choose the lighter Grauvernatsch.

A steep slope that yields little

Hofstatt is not a pretty label name, but a real slope, and anyone harvesting there does so exclusively on foot.

The yield is capped at 55 hectoliters per hectare, significantly lower than what the origin regulations would allow. Fewer grapes per vine mean more substance in each individual one, and it is precisely this substance that a wine intended for oak needs.

After fermentation in stainless steel, it goes into large oak barrels for nine months, resting on the fine lees. Such a barrel holds many times the volume of a barrique, and the larger it is, the less wood touches each liter of wine. Large wood therefore does not impart a vanilla tone; it provides air and time. Mundus Vini awarded the 2023 vintage gold.

It still has years ahead of it

A young Hofstatt does not show everything at once, and anyone opening the bottle on the evening of purchase should uncork it an hour earlier.

Five to six years suit it well, and during this time, the clear fruit evolves into a tone of quince and nut. Afterward, it remains drinkable for a long time, but loses the lime that makes it seem so bright when young. Further single-vineyard wines are waiting in the Cantina Kurtatsch assortment. This is what a terroir tastes like.

Origin, values, and awards

• Origin Wine from Italy
• Growing region South Tyrol - Alto Adige DOC
• Grape variety Pinot Bianco
• 13.5% vol. alcohol
• 6.0 g/l acidity
• 2.4 g/l residual sugar
• Awards 2023: 95 points Wine Enthusiast, 93 points Falstaff, 92 points James Suckling, 90 points Vinum, 90 points Decanter World Wine Awards, Gold Mundus Vini