The 2008 Pinot Bianco Haberle is elegant and refined in its intricately woven layers of perfumed fruit. This mid-weight, crisp white offers plenty of balance and harmony in an understated style. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2011. This is by far the most impressive set of wines I have tasted from Alois Lageder, one of Alto Adige’s largest and best-known producers. Importer: Dalla Terra, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 259-5405

Alois Lageder always presents beautifully crafted wines that are perfect from a technical point of view but also show loads of territory-driven personality. This structured Pinot Bianco is ripe with peach and melon aromas and shows creamy, vanilla like tones on the close.——M.L.(11/1/2010)—— 89