Born in 1898 from the idea of Christian Schrott, parish priest of Termeno in Alto Adige who later became a member of the Austrian parliament to give employment to a nucleus of a few families in the area and guarantee a future for mountain winemakers, la Tramin winery over time it has become one of the most successful cooperatives in the region and a recognized example of high quality wine in the world. From that original nucleus today they have become 160 families work on the wines of the cooperative cellar which covers a total of about 270 hectares with “the pride of someone who knows what each bottle contains a compendium of our philosophy of life and work: rigour, dedication, trust and creativity”. The arrival of the winemaker Willi Stürz, in the 90s then marked a strong acceleration in obtaining the levels of excellence of the wines of the cellar which today includes Nussbaumer, Terminum, Unterebner, Stoan, Freisinger, Maglen, Urban and Loam with the result that its most prestigious wine Epokale Gewürztraminer in 2018 was the first Italian white wine to be awarded by Wine Advocate with 100/100 Parker points, perfection.
First Italian white wine to obtain the vote of 100/100 from Wine Advocate
With these premises there was great anticipation this year for the return of Epokale Gewürztraminer Spätlese, which has now become a cult wine of Alto Adige with an aging potential of over twenty and one years extremely limited edition of only 2400 bottles, after a year of absence due to the non-release of the 2014 specimens. The wait was even more fueled by the excellent premises that the 2015 vintage reserved for the variety, confirmed by the 98 points awarded by Michael Garner for Decanter, one of the most important publications for the world of wine at an international level.
The new Epokale bears witness to thestylistic evolution of this wine. The years following 2009 were characterized by the goal of achieving greater elegance and harmony, through less concentration and less residual sweetness. But the long aging of the bottles in the mine surprised Cantina Tramin: over time, a higher concentration and presence of sugars have shown great integration in Gewürztraminer, giving a surprising finesse.
“Over the years we have returned to harvesting increasingly ripe grapes and to granting the wine an important residual sugar - explains Willi Stürz, winemaker of Cantina Tramin - We have understood how this is the way to give Epokale the harmony and body to which we aspire. Our goal is to continuously improve ourselves, to reach the highest levels in the approach to variety that never ceases to challenge us and never ceases to amaze us”.
With the 2015, therefore, a sweeter and more intense profile is proposed. The residual sugar exceeds 50 g, much higher than in previous years which stood at between 20 and 45 g.
The ripening for six years in the darkness of the Ridanna Monteneve mine (Bolzano) at almost 2000 meters above sea level.
I selected bunches come from two of the best and oldest vineyards next to the Nussbaumer farm, on the hills at the foot of the Mendola massif, facing south-east. The yield in the vineyard stands at 28 hectoliters per hectare. After the vinification with soft pressing, the wine rested on the lees for almost 11 months before being bottled. To develop its maximum expression, therefore, Epokale is matured for six years in the darkness of the Ridanna Monteneve mine (Bolzano) at almost 2000 meters above sea level. Here, four kilometers from the entrance to the tunnel, Gewürztraminer preserves its freshness and is enriched in elegance, thanks to the humidity rate of 90% and the temperature of 11 °C which remain constant throughout the year.
