WTN: A nice Pinot Nero from J. Hofstätter

[Otto]

J. Hofstätter Pinot Nero "Meczan" 2005 Alto Adige 13,5% abv

This was about 18€ here until Alko dumped the last stocks at just under 15€. I liked it when I tried it about a year ago, so I decided to buy one to accompany my boeuf bourguignon. It has very attractive Pinosity and no oak (IIRC it only sees stainless). It smells of ripe, sweet fruit and beetroot. It may not have the magic that Burgundy can achieve, but it is a very attractive scent.

Medium bodied, a bit fruit-heavy for my tastes, but still an attractive drink: softer in structure than I remembered from a year ago, yet the fruit hasn't faded at the same rate. Not terribly complex or long, but with nice purity of fruit. Decent, but not great QPR when discounted to 15€.

[Tim York]

A Hostätter 1995 which I picked up as a bin-end for €15 was perhaps the finest Pinot noir which i have had from outside Burgundy viewtopic.php?f=3&t=22739&p=194845&hilit=hofst%C3%A4tter#p194845 . That was great QPR; it was discounted from c.€35 at which price it would have held its own.

[Otto]

Tim, the S. Urbano is usually quite expensive so that was a huge bargain to get it for 15€! I haven't tried many S. Urbanos and I haven't really managed to wrap my head about them: sometimes I love them; sometimes I find them a bit oaky. I do remember one blind tasting where a '97 S. Urbano was more "classy" and Burgundian than a Vogüé village Chambolle '96 (though I must admit, I rarely seem to get Vogüé's style...). Sadly the S. Urbano, when rarely it has been available, has been closer to 50€ here.

But though the S. Urbano gets all the love, the Meczan in my experience is a very lovable Pinot, also.