Franziskus Haas is the fifth generation to run his family’s winery, and here I got to try three of his Pinot Noirs, a variety he planted in the 1980s. Haas has some of the highest vineyards in the region, starting at 300 m and going up to about 850 m, and Pinot Noir, known as Pinot Nero here, clearly does really well in certain sites. The single-vineyard Pònkler was particularly impressive.

Franz Haas Pinot Nero 2016 Alto Adige, Italy
14% alcohol. 20% new oak, 15% stems. Very sleek and elegant with nice purity. Lovely raspberry and cherry fruit with some lushness but also nice savouriness. There’s good freshness and purity here with no rough edges. Lovely sleek fruit. 93/100

Franz Haas Pinot Nero ‘Schweizer’ 2015 Alto Adige, Italy
This is from selected vineyards. There’s a delicacy and savouriness to this wine, which shows focused fresh red cherry and raspberry fruit. There’s a bit of savoury cedary oak lurking in the background, but it is quite well integrated. Has freshness, precision and purity with lovely elegance. 94/100

Franz Haas Pinot Nero Pònkler 2012 Alto Adige, Italy
13% alcohol. Single-vineyard special release. Floral and intense but with some tarry, cedary savouriness from the well integrated oak. The palate is dense and structured with sweet black cherry and blackberry fruit, as well as some fine cherry notes. There’s real depth here, some mid-palate softness and lushness, but also real elegance. It has seriousness and it’s fully ripe, but never deviates from freshness and balance. 95/100

Find these wines with wine-searcher.com