From one of Italy's northernmost appellations, the 2021 Alto Adige Valle Isarco Riesling Kaiton is very true to the grape, although you might taste some of the extra roundness and fruit intensity that comes with the warmer weather that creeps up the peninsula from the Mediterranean. There is white fruit, minty apple and lychee. The wine also reveals hints of the petroleum or flinty aromas that are often attributed to Riesling. The wine sees 80% stainless steel and 20% botte for six months, and 15,000 bottles were made. Riesling is cultivated in three of the four estate's vineyards, Kuenhof, Lahner and Gasteiger.

The Kuenhof estate is well-known for its white-wine prowess, and its 2019 Alto Adige Valle Isarco Riesling Kaiton is very true to the grape, most of all with that tell-tale tarry note of petroleum. A release of 15,000 bottles with screw caps, this is just a terrific wine, especially for the price. There are ample notes of crushed stone, and the overall effect is tonic and tight, with razor-sharp aromas and mouthfeel. I can really get behind this Riesling.

The 2016 Alto Adige Valle Isarco Riesling Kaiton is a light and extremely luminous expression with beautifully elegant aromas. The bouquet offers delicate traces of talc powder, crushed mineral, citrus oil and fresh grapefruit. More traces of ash and smoke lift quietly from the bouquet. This wine has a super light touch, like a fine feather over the palate. Some 15% of the mass is aged in acacia wood barrels. Some 15,000 bottles were made.

Kuenhof's 2015 Alto Adige Valle Isarco Riesling Kaiton is one of the most delightful surprise discoveries of this tasting. This is a bright and elegant expression of the grape that offers an impressive sense of inner brightness and verve. That energy is just fantastic. Packaged in a screw cap bottle, the wine shows a pale straw color and transparent luminosity. Its aromas are downplayed but complex at the same time, with stone fruit, honey and crushed granite. The wine is partially fermented and aged in large oak casks made with acacia wood. The rest of it (80%) just goes into stainless steel. Those fine mineral notes are this wine's ace card.

The 2012 Alto Adige Valle Isarco Riesling Kaiton is among the top three expressions of Riesling I have tasted this year. Mineral notes frame more articulated tones of citrus, pear and white melon. The focus is razor sharp and carefully delineated. Pretty herbal nuances, and a touch of petroleum, or natural rubber, add energy and liveliness to the delicious finish.