A popular and versatile wine, the Franz Haas 2020 Alto Adige Pinot Nero (in a screw-cap closure with 90,000 bottles made) shows cassis and wild berry fruit. This vintage offers simple lines and perhaps less complexity than we saw in previous editions, however it does reveal ample brightness and freshness. The wine is aged in barrique for 12 months, with 20% new oak.

The Franz Haas 2019 Alto Adige Pinot Nero (in a screw-cap bottle, with 100,000 bottles made) reveals pretty inner transparency over a light ruby color. There is a lot of variety-driven fruit with blue flower and wild berry, but this bottle also adds hints of licorice, tarry smoke and some pencil shaving. A second wave of fragrant, sweet-smelling fruit with apricot and orange peel also appears. This is a nice, straightforward expression that is vibrant and tight to the palate. It could be a nice dark-meat pairing for Thanksgiving dinner.

This wine shines bright with the intensity of brilliant ruby and garnet gemstone. The Franz Haas 2018 Alto Adige Pinot Nero (packaged in a screw cap bottle) is a chiseled and sharp expression with an enormously fragrant bouquet. It offers sour cherry, forest fruit, sweet almond and plenty of blue flower or lilac. The effect is smooth, fine and harmonious. If you want to try a true classic Alto Adige Pinot Nero, let me draw your attention to this wine. It should be easily found with an ample 100,000 bottles produced.

The 2017 Alto Adige Pinot Nero (packaged in a screw-top bottle) is a lean, garnet-colored wine that captures the ambient light with pretty brilliance. The bouquet peels back in layers with wild berry fruit, tart cherry, grilled herb and white almond. The wine shows the delicate floral aromas associated with this Burgundian grape, and you pick up pretty tones of orange blossom and honeysuckle at the back. Some 90,000 bottles were made.

Pinot Nero from cool-climate Alto Adige tends to show enormous purity and elegance. Indeed, it is my firm belief that this is one of the most successful territories for quality expressions of this delicate French grape. The 2016 Alto Adige Pinot Nero made by the folks at Franz Haas is a textbook expression with bright aromas of blueberry, violet and lavender that lift gracefully from the bouquet. The palate is tight and silky but beautifully polished and streamlined nonetheless. This is a beautiful wine from a balanced vintage. Bottle production is 90,000 units strong.