Elena Walch Beyond The Clouds Bianco

This is one of Italy’s finest white wines. A successful architect, Elena Walch married into one of the oldest winemaking families in the Alto Adige in the 1980s and her first vintage under her own name was in 1988, when she became the mountain region’s first female winemaker. She went on to win acclaim around the world, with daughters Julia and Karoline now working alongside her. The pioneering winemaker owns some of the best vineyards in Italy, including two monopoles: Castel Ringberg in Caldaro and Kastelaz in Tramin, both at 300-400m altitude. 

Her top wine, Beyond the Clouds is a blend of white varieties, based mainly on Chardonnay and usually including Pinot Grigio, Pinot Bianco and Sauvignon Blanc. The various grape varieties get picked as soon as the Chardonnay reaches optimum maturity. All varieties get crushed and pressed together after which they also ferment together in new French oak barriques. Part of the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation, after which it is matured for another 10 months in barrique with lees being regularly stirred up. The finished wine is bottle aged for at least 6 months before being released.

"This is a fantastic white, with complex aromas of pineapple, mango stone, papaya, honeysuckle, lemon pie, praline, gunflint and salted butter. It’s full-bodied, but elegant and fresh, with a caressing melted-butter feel. Evolving layers of tropical fruit with flowers and subtle nuttiness. Hard to resist. Drink or hold." 96 points, James Suckling