Cantina Terlano, Alto Adige DOC (Italy) Pinot Grigio 2020

 Pinot Grigio that costs $25 but then tastes like it is worth significantly more money is, quite frankly, inconceivable to most wine consumers.  They can hardly be blamed for that, because innocuous renditions of Pinot Grigio are not only ubiquitous in retail stores and restaurants, but even expected among those who have never tasted an outstanding specimen of the breed.  This is a manifestly outstanding specimen, with excellent concentration that takes it well into the medium-bodied range, where it displays delicious fruit recalling white melon and ripe pear, along with ultra-subtle musky, smoky notes (most often associated with Pinot Gris from Alsace, but rarely found in dry renditions from Italy).  The balance of ripe fruit and acidity is impeccable, keeping the wine delightfully fresh even as it impresses with its generosity.  Cantina Terlano has a track record that leads many experts to place it alongside Piedmont’s Produttori del Barbaresco as one of Italy’s two best cooperative wineries.  Which it is — though both would be regarded more simply and accurately as two of the entire world’s premier wine producers.