Say It, Then Sip It

Tiefenbrunner Feldmarschall von Fenner zu Fennberg Müller-Thurgau Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT 2008 is—let’s face it—a mouthful even before you open the bottle.

This is the flagship wine of the Tiefenbrunner estate in Italy’s Alto Adige region. Made from the white variety Müller-Thurgau, it is named in honor of Franz Maria Phillipp Freiherr von Fenner, an Austrian military commander who used the estate as a summer residence.

The grapes that go into this wine are grown on the high plateau of Fennberg, which is protected from the north wind and has a unique microclimate. At 3,280 feet above sea level, the vineyard is said to be the highest in Europe.

And while the name might conjure images of imperial soldiers battling it out in freezing Alpine temperatures, the first impression upon smelling the wine is an exotic perfume that is at once intensely feminine yet with a masculine edge—as if it were made by crushing flower petals between stones and then mixing them together with peaches and ginger.

The aromas carry over to a palate that is balanced and rich with the slightest impression of residual sugar and a tingle on the finish from the stoney minerals being washed away with a fresh dose of acidity. It’s an even more rewarding mouthful than the name on the bottle.

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