A step up the Colterenzio Chardonnay ladder, Altkirch comes from cooler, higher-altitude parcels in the Appiano hills, where gravelly, calcareous soils and big day-to-night temperature swings give the wine its tension and lift. Colterenzio is one of Alto Adige’s most respected co-ops, founded in 1960 and now over 300 grower families strong, and they channel that scale into a remarkably precise, transparent style. Fermented in stainless steel and aged on fine lees, this is a Chardonnay built on freshness rather than oak: pale gold, floral, with orchard and exotic fruit and that classic Alto Adige snap of acidity. Easy to drink, easy to love, and a real value in cool-climate Italian Chardonnay.