Vintage 2021: elegance and alpine freshness

2021 was also a turbulent year in the vineyard, although with an excellent outcome! This was only possible having some of the best vineyards in the region, due to meticulous handwork and the joint force of 190 small, structured families working with passion. The result: elegant, fresh wines with beautiful length.

An intense harvest period lies behind us. Due to the cool weather in August, the 2021 harvest started a week and a half later than usual and within a month, most of the white varieties were in the cellar. The 2021 vintage presents itself very elegant thanks to the cooler year and the later harvest. The balanced acidity levels promise fruit forward wines showing typicity of variety and terroir. Thanks to the well-integrated and lower alcohol we look forward to energetic wines with great fun to drink!  

Careful vineyard work with combined forces

Back in summer, to have such a positive outcome felt like a dream. The hail that hit us in the beginning of July caused great anxiety among us and our members. In some areas it hit us hard, fortunately although only in some! Only thanks to the diligent hand work of our members in the vineyards, we were even able to harvest very good batches of grapes despite the hail. An average extra working load of 25-30% in those vineyards was needed to obtain a great quality despite the hail. The separate and careful vinification of small lots did the rest. Thus, we are looking at a smaller vintage in terms of quantity, especially looking at Gewürztraminer, Schiava, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. In terms of quality however we can compare the 2021 vintage with the previous vintages 2019 and 2020 thanks to the additional working hours in the vineyard.

Terroir matters

When it comes to the white wines of the higher elevations and our Pinot Noirs, the 2021 vintage shows particularly owning the right vineyard is the key to make the difference. Thanks to the beautiful weather in late autumn, we were able to harvest optimally ripened grapes from the vineyards in and around Penon and Graun. The Müller Thurgau GRAUN, Pinot Grigio PENON, Sauvignon KOFL and Pinot Bianco HOFSTATT present themselves particularly fruity, mineral and with a beautiful alpine freshness. Our Pinot Noirs from the renowned GLEN and MAZON sites show their site potential: great colors, beautiful fruit and a juicy acidity might promise the best vintage produced so far!

Merlot: great structure & fruit

What would a harvest report from Kurtatsch be without an assessment of the Bordeaux varieties! As our BRENNTAL site was only little affected by the hailstorm we were looking forward very much to the Merlot wines! The ideal physiological ripeness of the grapes results in a very fruity, color-intensive Merlot with great structure and balanced tannins. To be able to make a first quality assessment of the Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc wines, the maturity in the cellar of the wines vinified in small lots is still awaited. The work additional vineyard work was especially high on those varieties, everyone did their best and we are looking forward having very good to great wines also here!

Tasting a new vintage is always better than just reading about it: we would therefore be happy to welcome you in our wine shop or at one of the wine fairs to taste the new vintage together!