August 2025 - a Castel story by Ivana Capraro

Beyond the Clouds 2022 - Elena Walch Winery

Every month we present a wine from our cellar that our sommelier Ivana Capraro recommends for that month.

August 2025

A wine that floats above the clouds and with a touch of eternity.

For me, admiring the blue sky over Merano is always the best moment on a hot August day. It looks like a painting, with marvellous white clouds. When I do this, one thing often comes to mind: what is beyond the clouds?

The winery

Elena Walch

Elena Walch, born in Milan in 1950, was actually an architect before she immersed herself in the world of wine through her marriage to Werner Walch - heir to a traditional winemaking family from Tramin.

At the end of the 1980s, she dared to break with convention and brought her cultural background and new perspective to the table. With cru selections such as Vigna Kastelaz and Castel Ringberg, international varieties such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and sustainability concepts, she revolutionised the South Tyrolean wine scene.

At the time, people sceptically asked: "Where is your husband?" - much like the Nobel Prize winner Donna Theo Strickland once asked about her male colleague. But Elena answered resolutely: "I'm here." Today, her daughters Julia and Karoline are the fifth generation to run the winery - cosmopolitan, innovative and deeply rooted in tradition.

The wine

Grande Cuvée Beyond the Clouds 2022

"The food was great, but the wine was beyond the clouds."

Beyond the Clouds has been South Tyrol's first white super cuvée since 2000 - a wine that is reinterpreted every year. Chardonnay forms the basis, complemented by indigenous varieties that ferment together on the skins and develop complexity and freshness.

The 2022 vintage comes from the estate's top vineyards (350-600 m), where cool nights, mountain breezes and mineral-rich soils characterize elegance, acidity and depth. After ageing in French barriques with fine bâtonnage, it matured for ten months in wood and six months in the bottle.

The name of the wine originated earlier: with the new millennium, the aim was to create a wine that went beyond what already existed in South Tyrol: a new "Supercuvée", i.e. "Beyond the Clouds".

Grape variety:

Mainly Chardonnay, with variable proportions of noble white grape varieties depending on the vintage.

Colour:

Intense golden yellow colour.

On the nose:

Exotic fruits, white peaches, rose petals, mineral hints.

Palate:

Elegant, creamy, carried by salty freshness and vibrant acidity, with a long and refined finish.

Salute!

Would you like to try it?

Enjoy Castel wines at home

You can enjoy this top wine and other fine wines from Elena Walch at the Castel and take some home with you from our hotel's own wine shop at attractive prices. Alternatively, we will be happy to send you your favourite wines directly.

Cheers!

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