Here's a wine with a steady track record. The Castelfeder 2019 Alto Adige Chardonnay Riserva Burgum Novum shows hints of toasted spice and smoke, thanks to fermentation in oak and 18 months in barrique. The wine opens slowly to produce soft aromas of melon, poached apple, quince and fragrant star fruit. You get a mid-weight mouthfeel with creamy sensations and good acidity too. This is a production of 15,000 bottles.

The Castelfeder 2018 Alto Adige Chardonnay Riserva Burgum Novum shows a rich golden color and offers a full-bodied presentation shaped by careful oak aging and high-altitude fruit. This Chardonnay embraces an exuberant, richly layered and generous personality with layers of exotic fruit, pineapple, crème caramel and creamy custard. This Riserva release of 11,000 bottles will appeal to those with a penchant for the buttery side of Chardonnay.

The Castelfeder 2017 Alto Adige Chardonnay Riserva Burgum Novum opens to a luminous golden color and a richly layered, intense bouquet. This oak-aged Riserva is redolent of orchard fruit, honey and apricot, and there are light shadings of nutmeg and toasted almond as well. This is a mid-weight Chardonnay that would pair with local spaetzle ("little sparrows") pasta with butter or cream. Production is 11,000 bottles.

The 2016 Alto Adige Chardonnay Riserva Burgum Novum is another terrific expression from the far north of Italy. The wine is lean in texture, yet its fiber is so dense and tightly knit that its volume and fleshiness is beautifully defined in this vintage. That tight textural sounding board is accentuated by fragrant aromas of yellow peach, honey and poached pear. It ages in barrique for 18 months. It's a good match for baked cod or halibut. Some 11,000 bottles were made.

The 2010 Alto Adige Chardonnay Riserva Burgum Novum opens to a pretty off-gold color and evolved aromas of golden apple skin, quince, candied lemon peel, blanched almond and touches of cinnamon and nutmeg. The wine feels heavy and thick in consistency but there is enough acidity to keep it from feeling fat or too viscous. Drying mineral notes appear on the close.