2017 Castelfeder Lahn Kerner Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT 750 ml

On most trips to Italy, we meet with importers, brand managers, and if available during our typically tight window on the ground, a family owner. When we pulled up to Castelfeder, an hour north of Verona, we were greeted by the entire family—nonagenarian and founder Alfons Giovanett; his son and daughter-in-law Günther and Allessandra; their son Ivan, and youngest daughter Ines.

Situated in the foothills of Italy’s towering Dolomites, the Giovanetts toil over estate vines watered by pristine mountain snowmelt. Bottle by bottle, they are redefining the white wines of Alto Adige, as evidenced by the white offered to us upon arrival. The family’s 2017 Castelfeder Lahn, made from Kerner grapes growing in the shadows of the Dolomites is a classic take, but with layers of impressive complexity. 

Kerner grapes typically produce a light and bright white with the fruit purity and crisp flavor you might recognize from Viognier, but in the hands of the Giovanett family, it’s a remarkably complex floral wine, unoaked, wrapped in a Meyer-lemon blanket with layers of savory spices and stone fruit—a marvel, and given that Kerner makes up just 1% of the grapes they grow; a very special and rare bottle.

Italian wine guru and writer Ian D’Agata once said that Alto Adige arguably makes Italy’s best white wines. “All are made in a vibrantly refreshing and classically dry style,” writes D’Agata, who takes time to single out Kerner wines, which he concludes “are probably the best wines made with this variety I have tasted from anywhere in the world.” He could have been talking about this Castelfeder, but lucky for us, the Giovanett’s haven’t submitted their wines for review. If they did, we might have had a harder time securing even the few cases we did for this Wine Access exclusive.

The beauty of the Castelfeder estate is of the unimaginable kind. As Alfons, Günther, Allessandra, Ivan, and Ines toured us around, every turn is an Instagrammable shot. Even at close to 3,000 ft. in elevation, almost double the highest vineyard sites in Napa Valley, rows upon rows of neatly-tended to vines under a canopy of nets to protect precious grapes from grapes, run right up to toes of what look like massive mounds of sleeping giants—at some points, sheer rock that shoots vertically upwards of 100 yards.

The Kerner grapes at Castelfeder first went into the ground in 1970. These mature vines deliver a wine that strikes a keen balance between its parents—Trollinger and Riesling—with spice, florals, and citrus-kissed fruit flavors. 

Castelfeder was founded by Alfons Giovanett in 1969, taken over by his son Günther, in 1989, and now the third generation of the family, Ines (sales) and Ivan (winemaking), are helping to produce what is, in our estimation, some of the single most impressive white wines in Italy today.

Bottles like this 2017 Lahn Kerner embody that claim brilliantly. Hand-picked, cold macerated, and fermented in stainless steel on the fine lees, adding a distinct richness, bottled at a modest 13.5% a.b.v., and offered at a price that makes it easy to purchase by the case. Restaurants like California Michelin-starred Plumed Horse and Micheal White’s New York Italian paradise, Osteria Morini, are among the few tipped off to Castelfeder’s brilliance. Now, you too can count yourself among a small, but growing elite in-the-know.