1991 Terlaner Rarità Alto Adige Cantina Terlan

One year in big oak, 24 years in 25-hl stainless steel. Bottled January 2016. Cold rainy vintage like 1996. Blend unknown but more than 50% Pinot Bianco. EUR400-500 in Italian restaurants. Very pale gold. Smells very youthful and has a light smoky/reductive note. Lightly toasty but I would have expected more autolytic character. That smoky reductive character on the palate too. Cool and fresh but would be better decanted as it is pretty closed. Fresh yet with an oily minerality I associate more with Austria than Burgundy. Touch of white pepper spice. Definitely a peppery spice on the palate and very good creamy long finish. A little spirity on the nose. But not as long as on the 2011 Grande Cuvée. (JH) 13% Drink 2016-2025.

What can I say? This is a stunning wine. You pay dearly for it, but the 1991 Alto Adige Pinot Bianco Rarity is precious indeed. This is the winery's historic blend of Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc that has been produced since the founding of the winery in 1893. This special selection of fruit results in a mere 3,340 bottles, and you'll recognize them by the heavy metal plate that serves as a front label. This wine has magically defied the years as it presents a succession of pure and beautiful aromas that underline the impressive quality of the primary fruit. Tertiary notes (and they are surprisingly subtle) come forward in terms of mineral, ash and crushed flint. The complexity soars to the stratosphere. It's impossible to assign a drinking window to a wine that seems to have not aged at all since 1991.