Sauvignon Blanc Ried Grassnitzberg Riff Erste STK Lage 2021

Originally, the wine only bore the name of the single vineyard Grassnitzberg, but with the 2020 vintage, the name of its coolest parcel “Riff” (reef) was added. The vineyard, planted by the winery’s founder Josef Tement in the 1950s, was the first in the family’s possession and sits on a 16-million-year-old coral reef.

Long ripening periods are typical for the southeast-facing basin location, which is one of the best in Styria. The wine it produces is complex, elegant, herbal-spicy, and dense. To emphasize these characteristics, the vineyard is cultivated organically, and the wine, after spontaneous fermentation, is aged for 24 months on the fine lees in large, neutral wooden barrels. It is bottled without filtration.

What also distinguishes the wines from Grassnitzberg is their great aging potential of 15 years or more. The Tement family advises giving the wine three to five years of bottle aging so that the currently subtle Grassnitzberg terroir notes can fully develop.