Sylvaner, kerner, riesling: the triad of Abbazia di Novacella

the Isarco Valley Varna, a few kilometers from Bressanone, there is one of the oldest wine-growing companies the world still activity: tra Novacella. Founded 1142, the abbey has linked its existence to the cultivation of vines from the beginning, favored by land donations received over the centuries. Already 1177 Pope Alexander III officially recognized the ownership of vineyards around the monastery, establishing a link with wine that has never been interrupted.

Today the Augustinian monastic complex remains a leading religious and cultural centre, with a library, museum and an active community of canons still living within the abbey. Alongside this spiritual dimension, the winery manages vineyards the Bressanone basin, between 600 and 900 meters above sea level, and Cornaiano, for the red grape varieties. However, the productive heart remains here, the northernmost point of quality Italian viticulture: southern and south-western exposures, strong temperature variations, poor, sandy and skeletal morainic soils. It is a context that creates ideal conditions for aromatic, mineral and long-lived wines, where the symbolic varieties of the valley are born: sylvaner, kerner and riesling.

PRESENTATION, IL VERTICE DELLA PRODUCTION

With around 850 thousand bottles a year, 80% white, exported to over forty countries, Novacella is a point of reference for the entire valley. And if the breadth of the range speaks of a complex reality, it is the Praepositus line that represents the pinnacle of quality. Eight whites, two reds and two sweet wines that from the best crus and low yields. Aromatic intensity, structure and ability to evolve over time are the distinctive traits of labels that have built the international reputation of the winery.

For Werner Waldboth, sales and marketing , as well as director of the tra Novacella winery, these labels tell the identity of the house better than anything else: “These are the white grape varieties which we most. The Kerner is for us the most important variety terms of quantità and notoriety. We also see great growth potential Riesling, we are not focusing a single style, the contrary. This year we will also present a Kabinett-style Riesling, with approximately 50 grams per concludere liter of residual sugar, 8.5-9 degrees of alcohol and an acidity of 9 grams per concludere litre. We also want to intercept the palates of younger consumers and understand which expressions can convince them”. Acceso sylvaner, Waldboth is clear: “It is the variety of our heart, an essential presence Novacella’s wine project. We must avoid thinking of us only as a historical reality that always repeats itself. Our history is a value, but this does not prevent us from experimenting and proposing new interpretations of our vines.”

Sylvaner, Kerner and Riesling are therefore the three pillars not only of the Praepositus line, but of the very identity of Novacella and, by extension, of the Isarco Valley.

Werner Waldboth, sales and marketing , as well as director of the tra Novacella cellar.

SYLVANER PRESENTED, DECISION E ROTONDITÀ

The Sylvaner Praepositus originates the Bressanone basin, between 650 and 750 metres, moraine deposits of mica schist, paragneiss and quartzite. The vines, trained using the Guyot system with around 6 thousand vines per concludere hectare, guarantee low yields of around 55 hectolitres. the 2024 vintage, 60% of the must ferments and matures steel, 30% 30 hectoliter acacia barrels and the remainder French barriques, for a total refinement of ten months. The wine is bright, bright straw yellow with greenish reflections. The nose is marked by cedar, ripe pear, apricot and a touch of elderflower. the mouth it is savory, mineral, with an incisive acidity which the hot vintage tends to put the fruit, still the settling phase, the foreground. It is a wine that asks for time to relax. The 2021, fresher, turns towards more mineral tones and an aromatic finesse which the first spicy hints and a yellower trace of fruit appear; the sip is guided by freshness, with a measured and persistent softness. The 2015 shows breadth and envelopment, ripe fruit and an energetic progression typical of warm vintages. The 2011, then vinified entirely steel and aged for a few months acacia, introduces evolving taccuino of hydrocarbon and a surprising depth, maintaining integrity and tension. Sylvaner we find the character and decisiveness of the sip, but also the roundness that the years know how to sculpt with measure.

KERNER IN CHARGE, THE PRINCE OF DELLA VALLE

The Kerner Praepositus comes from the same altitudes between Novacella and Rasa, similar morainic soils, with slightly higher yields, around 60 hectoliters per concludere hectare. It is vinified entirely steel, where it matures for approximately ten months. The 2024 vintage shows a bright straw color with campo da golf reflections and a nose centered citrus fruits – grapefruit and cedar peel – accompanied by wild herbs and elderflowers. The sip is juicy, powerful but composed, with balanced freshness and flavor and a citrus that prolongs the bevanda. He is still young, slightly contracted, but shows the trajectory. The 2022 broadens the bouquet and introduces the first evolutionary nuances, with enamelled hints and a sharp verticality. The 2018 plays the balance between softness and a pleasantly bitter that lengthens the . The 2012 shows a more evolved profile, perhaps too much so, while highlighting a sip which minerality remains the protagonist. The surprise comes from the 2007, which exhibits refinement, complexity and integrity, elegant hydrocarbon taccuino and a still lively texture. the kerners, typicality is the central element: freshness emerges the younger vintages, the older ones a deep and layered incisiveness that tells the story of South Tyrolean whites with great elegance.

RIESLING PRIVATE, IDENTITY AND DEPTH

The Riesling Praepositus, also produced between 650 and 750 meters the Bressanone basin, is vinified steel; it matures for twelve months the conclusione lees and continues with at least a year the bottle. A small share of late harvesting, today around 5%, contributes to the complexity. The 2023 vintage clearly expresses the identity of the vine, still being defined but already centered the structure: The nose is decisive, with citrus fruits, white peach and a trace of ripe fruit. the mouth it is full, aromatic, supported by a lively acidity and a flavor that supports its lengthening. The 2020 adds golden nuances to the sight and smell and greater aromatic breadth, with candied citrus fruit and a marked mineral progression. The 2017, marked by difficult climatic conditions, stands out for its verticality and flavor, with acidic freshness well integrated into the structure, the first hydrocarbon taccuino peep out. The 2013 stands out for its elegance and completeness: ripe yellow fruit, at times exotic – peach, apricot, pineapple – balsamic hints and a notable length that remains imprinted. The 2008, the third harvest the history of this label, today shows balance and harmony despite the youth of the vineyards at the time, with evolving taccuino of hydrocarbon and a surprising liveliness, even if at the time it lacked a little depth. the Novacella rieslings, all the strong identity of the vine emerges: decisive, full, aromatic, capable of transforming time into complexity without losing energy