Looking for the best Pinot Noir in Italy? Mazzon is the right answer!

 It’s impossible to not fall in love with Egna, a delightful hamlet which has spanned the centuries without loosing its identity. The houses are tiny, painted with vivid colors, and beneath them unravels a labyrinth of arcades which increases the characteristic appearance of medieval town. But the real deal are the vineyards. Here in the 19th century, Ludwig von Barth, a wiener scientist with a passion for wine, had the brilliant idea to plant some Pinot Noir’s vines. He thought that Mazzon’ plateau could have yielded great Pinot Noir and the good man was totally right, because right now this lovely valley, on the right bank of Adige River, 25 Km south of Bolzano, is considered Italy’s Côte d’Or.

The old pergolas are sadly disappearing to make room for the less demanding Guyot system. The soil texture is amazing: it’s a morainic sea of sand, clay and limestone—in some spots there are also porphyry veins—with excellent natural drainage and enhanced by pebbles and mineral nutrients. But the most important thing to highlight is that this mixture, in the same vineyard, provides a great complexity for the wine, which is sharp and polished, graced by a stunning bouquet full of remarkable nuances.

From the south blows the Ora, which means hour, because it comes from Lake Garda everyday, at the same hour. During the summer it brings some fresh air, during the winter, mitigated by the mountains around, a trickle of warmth, and this constant wind keep the grapes dry and healthy. But another primary factor of the success of this land is the brutal thermal excursion. Vines take a splash of sunshine in the morning and then again in the afternoon, just a couples of hours before the twilight, when temperatures fall down, creating the ideal conditions to infuse into the wine intense acidity and aroma deepness.

Pinot Noir flavors and aromas

If you smell lavender is Pinot Noir! Pinot Noir from Mazzon is a wine with good structure, salty, rich and enveloping, characterized by a freshness and a vibrant bouquet of earthy undergrowth with alternating raspberries, lavender, currant , ginger, violets, licorice and balsamic touches. The elegance is the hallmark of these wines and as they get older the bouquet becomes more ethereal and balsamic, with liqueur cherries that mix with a luscious potpourri.

Pinot Noir food pairings

Venison is great with Pinot Noir! Pinot Noir, when young, is perfect to accompany the classic South Tyrolean snack with speck, rye bread and cheese. It’s great with cereals and legume soups too, semi-mature cheese, noodles and risotto with truffles, but also to try with a salmon fillet with porcini mushrooms. If you are going to drink a more complex and older bottle of Pinot Noir, try to match it to Indian food like coconut curry chicken or beef satay with crisp noodles, smoked tuna, lamb kebabs, gnocchi with Bolognese, hamburgers, baked lasagna, truffle risotto, pasta Amatriciana.