Cabernet Sauvignon from the warmest plots of Kurtatsch, twelve months in barrique and nine months in large casks. Blackcurrant, laurel and marjoram, with fine-grained tannins. Decanter gave this vintage 94 points.
Deep dark red with a faint brick rim that betrays its age. The nose is outspoken and layered: blackcurrant and dark forest fruit, framed by Mediterranean herbs — laurel, marjoram and lavender. Beneath them the alpine signature of Kurtatsch emerges — peppermint and a resinous note of stone pine. On the palate the wine shows depth and a smooth structure, carried by fine-grained tannins that after ten years are fully resolved. The acidity is still vivid and promises further ageing. The finish is long, herbal and refined. Serve with lamb, aged beef, game or mature mountain cheese.
Kellerei Kurtatsch is a cooperative in the South Tyrolean village of Kurtatsch, founded in 1900 by forty-two growers. Today 190 member families farm 190 hectares of vineyard between 220 and 900 metres. Erwin Carli is the cellar master.
Freienfeld is the Riserva line of Kurtatsch. The Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the lowest and warmest plots of the village, between 220 and 350 metres, on soils of clay, sand and gravel with dolomitic limestone.
Yields are held to 40 hectolitres per hectare. The wide day-night temperature swing gives the wine its spice and keeps the acidity in place.
The grapes ferment in a temperature-controlled rotary tank. The wine then matures twelve months in barrique, followed by nine months in large oak casks and a minimum of one year in bottle. Alongside Decanter’s 94 points this wine has been distinguished by Vinum, Vitae and Gambero Rosso.
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