The Tuesday of the Merano Wine Festival is always a little more relaxed and dedicated to hosting the sparkling wines of France and Italy, to which this year the wines of Bio&Dinamica have also been added.
In this context, on November 8, during the Naturae et Purae event curated by Angelo Carrillo, the award dedicated to Rainer Zierock was presented, the agrarian philosopher who passed away in 2009 and who was a pioneer of what would become “natural” cultivation and winemaking, that is the science that theorizes the product of the Earth inside the glass with only a minimal contribution of technological tools.
Accepting the award, won by Thomas Niedermayr who was not present for health reasons, and presented by the patron of the Merano Wine Festival Helmut Kocher, was the philosopher’s daughter Myrtha Zierock, who together with her brothers Emilio and Theo works in their mother’s company (Elisabetta Foradori). For the occasion some copies of the book “Il Pentagon”, a philosophical work by Rainer, were reprinted and distributed, reissued in Italian and English translations by his son Theo.
from left: Josef Reiterer, Helmut Kocher, Myrtha Zierock, Angelo Carrillo and Michael “Muggi” Reiterer
The event took place within another Event, with a capital E because that is what it is, namely a Masterclass held by Josef Reiterer, founder back in 1982 of the winery Arunda Vivaldi, which with grapes sourced externally produces in Meltina one of the best Metodo Classico wines in Italy, with the winery located at 1200 meters of altitude, that is the highest winery in Europe. About a previous experience with this maître à penser we had already written extensively last year (link). The Sissi Hall, the setting of the award ceremony and the masterclass, was for the occasion decorated with paintings created by his son Michael “Muggi” Reiterer.
The Masterclass gives us the opportunity to taste a vertical of his Extra Brut Riserva (from 2011 to 2006) and three gems with dégorgement more than 20 years after bottling, all strictly in Magnum format.
Bottles of Arunda Extra Brut Riserva
But let’s proceed step by step, starting from the Extra Brut Riserva. The 2011 was bottled in 2012 and disgorged in 2017, showing good minerality and freshness associated with a pleasant aromatic note reminiscent of bread crust. The Riserva 2010 was bottled in 2011 and disgorged in 2016, slightly more evolved although the dosage remains that of the house style (4 mg/l of cane sugar), with evident notes of ripe orange. The 2009 was bottled in 2010 and disgorged in 2015, still showing bread crust notes but no longer enjoying the push of freshness that we find in the others, perhaps due to the slightly warmer vintage. The 2008 was bottled in 2009 and disgorged in 2014, truly balanced with freshness and great fullness in the middle of the palate with notes of quince, a masterpiece among them all. The 2006, disgorged in 2011, is in an evolutionary phase but not oxidized, showing preserved freshness with hints of yellow fruit in syrup, the bubble still lively, and despite almost 20 years it has great drinkability. All these vinifications do not undergo malolactic fermentation by Josef’s choice, because he decided to give up the “fatness” given by this process in order to preserve freshness, aiming at aging potential. Mission accomplished.
We arrive at the great champions of the tasting: Chardonnay 2000 Zierock, among those that Josef developed in agreement with Reiner, presenting mature notes (Williams pear) but with a still perfect bubble. Next we enter hyperspace, because we approach a wine from the same vintage (2000) but using Petit Verdot as the base grape; truly incredible the freshness combined with the astringent notes of still lively red fruits and the length (this one could imagine), with a final hint of light undergrowth that the grape variety is able to give to the wine. The last example of the Masterclass dates from 1997 and is called Phineas One, another experiment by Reiner and Josef, in which the Assyrtiko grape, a Greek variety, was used as the base for sparkling production: the bubble still fine but present despite the 25 years passed, notes of freshness still present and not obvious, a wine that finishes quite straight and persistent.
Phineas One vintage 1997
At the end of this experience Josef takes leave of the audience retracing the main stages of his life together with his wife Marianna, finally announcing at the age of 76 his decision to retire from the operational management of the Arunda company, handing the leadership of the winery to Wolfgang Tratter, currently winemaker of the St. Paul winery. This will allow him to have more time for himself and for Marianna, undertaking those journeys he would have liked to make but had kept in a drawer for lack of time.
Standing Ovation for a person who has been one of the driving forces of South Tyrolean winemaking to whom, above all the world of Metodo Classico, owes a great deal.
Josef and Marianna Reiterer Copyright ArundaVivaldi winery
