TRAMIN | Weißburgunder – Pinot Bianco | 2020
pinot blanc

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Today we are going to review a single varietal pinot blanc wine that comes from the trending Alto Adige sub-region of Südtirol in Northern Italy – Weißburgunder – Pinot Bianco 2020 by Cantina Tramin. Pinot Blanc (also known as Pinot Bianco in Italy and Weißburgunder in Austria and Germany) is the white mutation of pinot noir grape variety, and today it is planted mostly in Austria, Germany and Northern Italy. Being a versatile grape variety, pinot blanc wines deliver a certain roundness of flavour, and due to its low natural acidity, pinot blanc wines are generally lean rather than plump, having fewer personality than chardonnay, and as a result even less body. This means that yields have to be really low, if the winemakers desires for its pinot blanc wines to withstand some barrel ageing. Austria is perhaps the country which values Weissburgunder the highest, particularly around Neusiedlersee, where grapes can ripen to exceptional ripeness and botrytis is almost an annual occurrence. But it is probably in Italy that Pinot Bianco has reached its apogée and produces the greatest diversity of styles. It is widely used by the sparkling wine industry in Trentino (mainly as a blending partner for chardonnay) and in the sub-alpine terraces of the Alto Adige (that lies in a ‘Y’ shaped glacial valley, right at the border between Austria and Italy), where it can produce refreshingly-zesty, vibrant and lively wines, usually untroubled by oak ageing. But enough theory, that said and without further ado, let’s move on straight to our tasting results.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
color: pale straw-white color
clarity: bright pastel-yellow hues

//Olfactory
intensity: rich & citrusy-zesty
fruit profile: green fruits | citrus fruits
__green fruits: white apple | asian pear | gooseberry
__citrus fruits: lemon | pomelo | white grapefruit
fruit character: ripe

//Flavor
non fruit: floral | other
__floral: acacia blossom | honeysuckle
__earth: straw grass | chalk | baguette
primary layer: fruit

//Palate
sweetness: bone-dry
acidity: high
alcohol: high
tannin: low
__grip: bitter
balance: good
__dominant: acidity
body: lean | round

//Taste
fruit profile: citrus fruits
fruit character: underripe
non fruit: herbal
finish: medium
aftertaste: crisp

//Scoring
TRAMIN | Weißburgunder – Pinot Bianco | 2020
variety: pinot blanc
country: Italy
region: Trentino-Alto Adige | Südtirol
rating: 93.1

//Conclusion
maturity: in its prime | drink now or within 1 year
verdict: great | a must try wine
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This is definitely a great wine of Italy and with a total of 93.1 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Verdict: this is a very lean and supple pinot bianco wine that tastes refreshingly crisp and zesty, with a nuanced, citrusy-expressive nose and a some hints of phenolic bitterness on the palate. The wine is right there, at the peak of its prime form, therefore we’s recommend to drink it today rather than tomorrow or within a year, in order to enjoy it at its finest, as we firmly believe that it is always better to drink a wine a year too soon than a day too late. On the nose the wine delivers ripe citrus and green fruit notes in the foreground, followed by some very appealing, floral and herbal hints in the background. On the palate the wine brings mouth-watering acidity and quite a touch of alcoholic warmth that is showing through on the mouthfeel, which evolves into a quite crisp aftertaste. All in all, this a very appealing and nicely balanced pinot blanc wine, with a very nice balance between all its elements – a wine that will pair lovely with a pear and lemon summer salad, or a tropical mango and lime salad. Cheers!

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