Ried Steinmassl Riesling 1.ÖTW 2022

Wine Description for Ried Steinmassl Riesling 1.ÖTW 2022 by Loimer

Colour & Appearance

Pale straw yellow with green reflections – a wine that announces its freshness and vibrancy right in the glass.

Nose

Radiant and hedonistic: apricots, nectarines and butter cake create a sunny aromatic picture in luminous yellow. Beneath this lies a fascinating mineral layer – wet slate, salinity, a sea breeze. Quince and yellow pears round out the fruit spectrum. The nose promises complexity without heaviness, ripeness without opulence.

Palate

Here the true class of this Riesling reveals itself: refined, almost sharp-edged precision on the attack. The juicy fruit is framed in a stable, chalky, gripping minerality that builds enormous pressure on the palate. Rich in extract and charged with saline tension, the wine seems almost explosive – yet it remains taut and focused. This combination of south Alpine fruit abundance and north Alpine coolness is the hallmark of great Kamptal Rieslings.

Finish

Salty-cool and persistent. The minerality carries far, the fruit lingers without dominating. A finale that invites the next sip.

Terroir & Origin

The Ried Steinmassl (240–340 m elevation, south-southeast to southwest exposure) is characterised by paragneiss, mica schist and amphibolites. Strong weathering creates brown soils up to one metre thick, interspersed with stones and light limestone – ideal conditions for mineral Rieslings with depth.

Grape Variety & Vinification

Selective hand harvest in early to mid-October, 12–24 hours skin contact. Spontaneous fermentation split equally between steel tank and wooden barrel, followed by eleven months of ageing on full lees in oak barrels. A further eight months on fine lees in steel tank. Unfined bottling in August 2024 – a wine that has been given time and patience.

Food Pairing Suggestions

Char or pike-perch with herb butter, scallops with lemongrass, asparagus with Hollandaise sauce, veal schnitzel with potato salad, mature Alpine cheese. The salty minerality calls for seafood and refined fish dishes.

Special Features

A 1.ÖTW (First Vineyard Site according to the Austrian Traditional Wine Estate Classification) – the highest quality level of Austrian vineyard wines. Fred Loimer demonstrates once again his feel for terroir and perfect timing.