Kaltern

Pinot Nero 2020

92

This is a terrific entry-level red that offers plenty of varietal typicity with a very attractive price tag. The Cantina Kaltern 2020 Alto Adige Pinot Nero delivers all the goods: freshness, elegance and a no-fuss style to pair with white meat or even a spaghetti allo scoglio with seafood and chopped tomato, if served a few degrees chilled. I'd suggest buying this wine by the case, not by the bottle, and make sure to drink it while all that beautiful primary fruit is still intact. Some 95,000 bottles were made.

Kaltern

Pinot Nero 2019

90+

The Cantina Kaltern 2019 Alto Adige Pinot Nero (with 90,000 bottles made) is a beautiful wine that puts aromatic purity and fresh elegance before anything else. The wine rises bright from the glass with a bouquet driven by mountain flowers, wild violets, honey, candied orange peel, sweet almond and lots of tangy forest fruit. It offers a big dose of Pinot Nero purity over a lean and silky mouthfeel. This is a terrific value buy.

Kaltern

Pinot Grigio 2024

92

Where I live in DC, spring arrived very suddenly after a long and wild winter – one that could make anyone turn their attention to wines noted for freshness and verve. Pinot Grigio is certainly in that category, but it is also true that most renditions offer nothing but freshness, with almost no depth of flavor and no persistent and pleasing aftertaste. This wine has offered an exception in every vintage I’ve tasted for more than a decade. Although the 2025 vintage will presumably be arriving shortly, the 2024 still tastes exceptionally good, and may well be less expensive on account of tariffs. The fruit notes recall ripe Golden apples as well as autumn pears, with excellent palate weight that is balanced out by notable but not overly tart acidity. Kaltern is one of Alto Adige’s exceptional co-op wineries, and virtually everything they turn out is excellent in every vintage. Remember this producer.