The Story
Grape variety: Grüner Veltliner
Harvest yield: 4,500 l / ha
Date of harvest: September 30 – October 18, 2016
Alcohol content: 12.5%
Bottle closure type: Screw cap
Vineyards: This Grüner Veltliner is a blend of wines sourced from different terraced vineyards. The elevated terraces consist of stonier soils (schisted granite). The vines there show aromatic expression, good acidity, elegant stone fruit and lots of minerals. The lower sited terraces mostly of layered fertile loess show more body and ripeness. By combining those two characteristics we get a really classic Grüner Veltliner with both finesse and a certain vigor.
Maturation: The wine is fermented at semi-cool temperatures between 15-20°C.
Food pairing recommendation: A perfect companion to many starters such as smoked trout, ham, cold vegetables, sea food, tapas, or fresh marinated goat cheese with herbs; also very good with fish barbecue, or roasted chicken, Asian dishes if not too hot such as Dim Sum, or Wok, fine with ‘Vegan Cuisine’.
Wine Information
Tasting notes: Very clear structure with a slightly yeasty touch; some hazelnut and greengage notes along with delicate pear and peppery tones. Already accessible; extremely clean and youthful; still challenging with a precise focus. – Viktor Siegl
The 2016 vintage: When flowering began on June 10th, it signalled that 2016 was one of the earliest - though not extremely early - vintages, which indeed was very promising; we had expected wines that were mature, but not heavy, and were looking forward to having the entire spectrum, from light and fresh sparkling and Grüner Veltliner wines, to outstanding, late harvest Reserve quality wines.
After a relatively damp spring, the summer proved rainy as well. It was only during the last week of August that a sunny, stable weather period began, allowing for a wonderful development of ripeness.
A very sunny and warm September was followed in early October by a cooler period with alternating dry and wet phases. The entire harvest was carried out in a highly selective way: only hand-picked and hand-sorted grapes (excuding those that were good for eating) were allowed in our wine press and used for the wines.
At the beginning of November, the last grapes from the Steinmassel, Lamm, Spiegel, Heiligenstein and other vineyards were harvested with excellent quality. On January 6th, we were able to complete the vintage 2016 (+17! ) with two Eiswein (ice wine) harvests – Riesling and Muskateller. Due to changing weather conditions in the spring and summer, a lot of time and work was invested in the vineyards, which is why maximum grape quality was achieved. The wines of the vintage are characterized by very direct, linear fruit with grip and incredible freshness and vibrancy. With good cellar storage, we expect this vintage to have excellent ageing potential !
