Hefeabzug, Grüner Veltliner trocken 2023

Wine description for Hefeabzug Grüner Veltliner trocken 2023 from Nikolaihof

Colour & Appearance

Pale yellow with vibrant green reflections – youthful, clear, precise.

Nose

The name is both programme and promise: Initially, reductive notes dominate – match heads, a hint of egg salad, flintstone. Those patient enough to give the wine air will be rewarded: the nose opens to pristine kitchen herbs, coriander, cress and borage, carried by spicy, cedary notes of white pepper and fine citrus hints. What remains of the reduction is a mineral echo like wet stone after rain.

Palate

On the palate, the story repeats itself: yeasty-herbal on the attack, with a creamy texture that initially wraps the fruit in cotton wool – until a firm, gripping minerality takes hold and sets everything in motion. The texture is rough, almost powdery, the acidity taut and lively. The result is phenomenal drinking flow, which develops into a compelling urge to drink within minutes.

Finish

Long, mineral, characterised by white pepper and citrus-fresh spice. A wine that continuously transforms in the glass and on the finish – becoming more interesting by the minute.

Terroir & Origin

Grown on loam, loess and paragneiss in partly terraced vineyard sites of the Wachau – one of Austria’s most demanding and iconic wine regions. The terroir unmistakably shapes this wine: the stony-mineral depth is no accident, but an expression of the soil.

Grape Variety & Vinification

Grüner Veltliner, aged for six months on fine lees in large wooden cask – hence the name. Bottled in April 2024 with merely 1.5 g/l residual sugar and 5.4 g/l acidity: dry, taut, honest. No frills, just time, yeast and an extraordinary terroir.

Food Pairing Suggestions

A classic companion to Wiener Schnitzel, grilled zander or asparagus with hollandaise sauce. Equally convincing with herb risotto, starters with cucumber and cress or simply with a good piece of bread and butter – this wine needs no grand stage.

Special Features

The Nikolaihof is Austria’s oldest wine estate with a history reaching back to 63 AD. Since 1971, it has been farmed biodynamically according to Demeter standards – nettle tea and valerian instead of herbicides. This wine is living proof that philosophy and pleasure are no contradiction.