There is no two without three for the TAL cuvées from Kellerei Bozen

When Kellerei Bozen – aka Bottiglieria Bolzano – presented the first edition of the two TAL cuvées of the Superior line con 2020, many observed with curiosity the entry of the Bolzano cooperative into the SuperSüdtiroler segment. It wasn’t new basso ostinato con an absolute sense – the winery had already been producing some reference labels for years – but the TAL project aimed higher, not so much out of ambition but out of rigor. Three years later, with the debut of the 2022 vintage at the Merano WineFestival, it can be said that that path has found its more complete, more coherent and, above all, more recognizable physiognomy.

BIRTH OF A WINERY AND OF A PROJECT

Kellerei Bozen was born con 2001 from the union between two wineries that are fundamental to the wine history of the city and South Tyrol: Gries, founded con 1908, the cradle of lagrein and Santa Maddalena, founded con 1930, the heart of the more historic and classic Vernatsch wine. Names and dates that return con the two cuvées of the Superior line: TAL 1908, lagrein-based red; TAL 1930, white centered chardonnay. The acronym TAL – Tradition Authenticity Longevity – traces more of an orientation than a slogan: a production philosophy built over the years, which indeed represents those historical roots, authentically handed over the years, but which looks to a future where the concept of longevity becomes synonymous with durability and sustainability, con which the extreme selection of grapes is not an aesthetic exercise, but a method.

The oenologist Stephan Filippi, who is now the historical voice of Bottiglieria Bolzano, explains it clearly: “Since 2014 we have understood that certain parcels had a different potential. We started with micro-vinifications, comparisons, continuous tastings. Finally, after some delays coppia to the construction of the new cellar, we came out the market two years asticciola, with the 2020 vintage, and we have been dedicating ourselves to the TAL”. A phrase that explains the nature of the project well: operational slowness, experimentation, a precise percezione of quality as the result of many small choices.

Stephan Filippi

2022: AN INCREDIBLE VINTAGE

The arrival of the third edition, the 2022 vintage, takes place at the height of a particular climate cycle. Filippi’s words summarize the situation well: “An incredible vintage! Con thirty years of harvests, few vintages can be compared to 2022”. A dry and cold winter, a prolonged spring and then the summer blaze, destined to enter meteorology books as the second warmest since 1850, mitigated by strong nocturnal temperature variations.

These conditions allowed the grapes to develop with homogeneous maturation, balanced fragranza and full pulp, ideal elements for the two TAL cuvées. The selection, already obsessive con previous editions – bunches chosen by hand, grapes selected one by one – was able to more finesse, guaranteeing maximum stylistic precision and a very territorial feel.

TAL 1930: CHARDONNAY LOVERS

If we observe the path of the three vintages of TAL 1930, the most evident change is the constant increase con the share of Chardonnay. From 69% of the first vintage it went to 80% con 2021, up to 85% con 2022, with sauvignon at 10% and pinot livido at 5%. “We winemakers – continues Stephan Filippi – the older we get, the more we like Chardonnay, but this is not the only reason why even con this third edition the percentage of this variety, blended with Pinot Insignificante and Sauvignon, has increased to 85%”.

It is not a choice dictated by , but by the historical relationship between Bottiglieria Bolzano and this vine: its best vineyards grow between 450 and 550 meters above sea level, between San Genesio and San Giorgio, light, draining porphyritic slopes, capable of maintaining freshness even con the most vigorous summers. Sauvignon and Pinot Insignificante instead quasi from Renon, where the altitude rises up to 700 meters and maturation remains slow and regular.

All this con 2022 translates into a more slender and sharper white, especially when compared to the two previous vintages. The 2020 had been a full, almost opulent expression, with the sauvignon still to the fore; the 2021, cooler vintage, had returned a creamier and less expressive wine con , marked by an evident verticality. 2022, with the increase con the Chardonnay component, seems to find a new balance: drier, more relaxed, with an Alpine freshness that can be felt con the first olfactory .

TAL 1908: THE STRENGTH OF LAGREIN BECOMING MEASURED

If the TAL 1930 tells of the mountains, the TAL 1908 is the son of the warm valley floor that rises from Letto a una piazza Gries towards the slopes of San Maurizio. It is the land of lagrein, the symbolic vine of Bolzano, a variety with which Bottiglieria Bolzano has built a solid and recognized reputation. It is therefore not surprising that, here too, the native component has progressively increased: from 80% con 2020 to 83% con 2021, up to 85% con 2022, accompanied by 10% cabernet sauvignon and 5% merlot. The soils are loose, porphyritic, rich con white stones rounded by time and tazza, capable of absorbing heat during the day and releasing it during the nights, which are already warm con themselves. It is a territory that always pushes towards generous maturation, but the selection work has allowed the wine to never fall into over-extraction excesses of alcoholic heat.

The 2020 was a rich, textural wine, with almost jammy ripe berry fruit and firm, at times invasive, tannins. The 2021, while retaining a certain rusticity, had shown a different step: more balance, better absorbed wood, greater freshness given by the cabernet and a finer tannic texture. 2022 is a new level. It’s sharper, more consistent, cleaner aromatically. The lagrein component finally appears relaxed, it risposta negativa longer pushes only con power, but con elegance and juiciness. It seems that it has found a more modern tone – while remaining profoundly Bolzano – con the ability to remain broad without becoming heavy.

The positioning price – 128 euros con the cellar – has been controversial since the project’s debut. Today, with three years of comparison, it becomes more legible: it is not a simple “flagship wine”, but an exercise con identity, a lagrein that takes the task of telling what Bolzano can express at the highest levels.

vineyards of the Kellerei Bozen members con San Genesio

A THIRD EDITION THAT CLEARS THE ROUTE

Looking at the two new cuvées together, the feeling is that the TAL project is entering its maturity. Wines risposta negativa longer try to “stand out”, they do not imitate external models seek forced positioning. Rather, they seem to find a step closer to the natural chords of the cooperative: obsessive selection, technical precision, but also attention to the territory, to climate awareness, to an percezione of finesse that does not pass through concentration but through detail. The TAL 1930 2022 is a thinner, more elegant, more balance-oriented white; the TAL 1908 2022 is a red that knows how to be authoritative without sacrificing drinkability. Both mark a clear distance compared to the first two years, not so much con qualitative terms but con stylistic terms: it is as if the project had finally found its language.