Riesling, the world’s greatest white wine according to many wine geeks, is best known in Germany, Austria and Alsace, France. However, there’s some Old World Riesling in Italy too.
Italian Riesling
Most Riesling is produced in the above mentioned Germanic influenced regions along with a decent percentage in New World countries like Australia and the US. However, only about 1% of Riesling is produced in Italy.
The obvious place to look is the German influenced Alto-Adige at the Italian-Austrian border. Two-thirds of the population speak German. Although other French and German whites reign supreme here like Pinot Bianco, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, and Muller-Thurgau, about less than 2% of plantings are Riesling. This puts it on par with lesser produced whites like Kerner, Sylvaner, and Muscat, but above even rarer Veltliner, Manzoni (a hybrid of Riesling and Pinot Bianco), Solaris and Nosiola.
Other north Italian regions are also cool enough to make Riesling like Veneto, but again other varieties like Pinot Grigio, Friulano, Chardonnay, Malvasia and Sauvignon Blanc are far more popular. Similarly, Piedmont produces other local and international whites like Chardonnay, Timorasso, Favorita, Cortese and Arneis above Riesling, but there are some big name producers that also make a Riesling like Borgogno, GD Vajra, and Massolino.
I found a Riesling from Alto-Adige and Piedmont to test out. Let’s see how they compare to each other and more standard Rieslings like from Germany and Alsace. As with my recent cool climate Malbec experiment, I suspect the terroir and winemaking differences will play a role.
Tasting Notes
2020 San Leonardo Riesling Alto-Adige
In the past, I’ve reviewed a San Leonardo Bordeaux blend and their Carmenere, which are what they’re known for. However, I was surprised to discover they had a Riesling too. Only around 800 cases were made this vintage.
100% Riesling. 12 months sur lie in new and once-used large French oak casks. Alcohol is 13%, so this should be a dry Riesling. I’m already curious to see how the new oak will influence it since most Riesling is unoaked or at most aged in neutral oak. In terms of the climate, Alto Adige, at up to 1,000m in elevation along the Alps, provides the freshness for all their whites, but there’s also a lot of sun to get necessary ripeness for their late-ripening reds too.
The color is slightly darker for a dry Riesling. The nose delivers fresh but ripe apple, peach and pear fruits and a tiny bit of petrol. German Riesling tends to be fruitier with more residual sugar. This is super-dry in comparison. The palate is medium-bodied, perhaps a little fuller than average for a dry Riesling, but nothing major. A long salty finish. The acid is a bit lower than average Riesling, but still high acid. A touch of honey. Most of these aspects would still point to Riesling though. However, I think the oak aging manifests itself by giving this Riesling a more oxidative side like a toasty, caramel apple note but it’s not the feature of the wine. 92
2021 Massolino Langhe Riesling
Massolino is an estate I was able to visit a while back. Besides their excellent Barolos, I believe I tried their Chardonnay there, but not their Riesling because it had only been recently planted. I believe the first release was the 2017 vintage.
This is produced in the highest vineyard (~530m) of the Massolino’s estate holdings, located in Monforte d’Alba, to have the necessary coolness to produce Riesling. These were planted in 2014 on rocky and limestone soil. After experimenting with different types of aging, this is now fermented and aged in large cement tanks on lees for 9 months. Again, this is not typical as most Riesling is fermented and aged in stainless steel. This is a dry Riesling with 13.5% alcohol.
Screw-cap. A bit darker than the San Leonardo Riesling. The nose has a slightly reduced and stoney minerally feel, but still rather shy. The palate is a lot more showy with ripe up front stone fruit, medium-bodied, medium+ acid, and a savory finish. Somewhat tannic without food too for a white. However, there’s a slight fizz and warmth from the 13.5% alcohol. I think it can open up some more. Similar to the San Leonardo Riesling, but no oak and less of the oxidative aspects with more warmth, slightly more body, riper fruit but a bit less acid. A bit less obviously Riesling (at least not German Riesling, perhaps more Alsace Riesling). 90+
Conclusion
Although both of these had Riesling characteristics, I don’t think one would confuse them with German Rieslings. The Massolino leaned more towards Alsace with higher alcohol while the partial new oak aging made the San Leonardo Riesling different compared to most Riesling. At the same time, some oak aging is not uncommon in Alto-Adige higher-end whites, but it’s usually neutral, large oak vessels or untoasted new oak whenever new oak is used. Nonetheless, these were enjoyable Rieslings in their own right.