Bottler: Johannes Zillinger organic winery, Landstrasse 70, A-2245 Velm-Götzendorf / Austria
In the glass
Colour
Pale, slightly cloudy golden yellow.
Nose
A complex bouquet of cellar apples, beeswax, meadow honey and ripe yeast dough, underpinned with almonds, blonde tobacco, candied ginger, kumquat and lemon verbena.
Palate
Silky and yeasty on the palate, driven by a vital acidity and fine vibration, featuring notes of salted lemon, grapefruit, lime and gooseberry.
Character
Multi-layered, dense and full of tension – a successful synthesis of lightness, cool minerality and expressive substance.
Pairing
Pairs brilliantly with grouper and fish roe beurre blanc, turnip carpaccio, or roast chicken with preserved lemons and za’atar.
Notes
Demeter-certified ageing under a layer of flor yeast in old Champagne casks alongside partial intracellular fermentation in amphora, bottled with minimal sulphur additions.
Tasting note
Colour & Appearance
Light, slightly cloudy golden yellow.
Nose
A fascinating interplay in the glass: aromas of cellar-stored apples, meadow honey, ripe yeast dough and beeswax meet ground almonds, nuts and blonde tobacco. With a little aeration, nuances of candied ginger, candied pineapple, kumquat and verbena reveal themselves.
Palate
A densely woven, multi-layered performance full of transparency and inner strength. On the palate, it displays a vibrant acidity structure and enormous tension. Notes of gooseberry, limes and grapefruit meet yeasty, silky textures as well as nuances of preserved lemon, verbena and lemon balm.
Finish
Exceptionally long-lasting; the wine coats the palate and leaves a vibrating, salty freshness for minutes after swallowing.
Terroir & Origin
The grapes originate from the south-eastern Weinviertel around Velm-Götzendorf, where the winery has been based since 1673. The vines are rooted in barren limestone and sandstone soils.
Grape Variety & Vinification
This Sauvignon Blanc was harvested by hand on 17 September 2020. 80% of the grapes underwent whole-bunch pressing, whilst 20% fermented intracellularly for five days in 500-litre amphorae. Following a slow pressing, the wine aged for 12 months under flor yeast in three old Champagne barrels. Maturation was carried out in accordance with Demeter association guidelines (total sulphur: 18 mg/L).
Food Pairings
Excellent with grouper with fish roe beurre blanc, capers and fennel fronds, turnip carpaccio with elderflower syrup and gooseberry oil or roast chicken filled with preserved lemons, capers and za’atar.
Particularities
As the essence of Zillinger’s work, this wine combines the lightness of the Velue range, the cool minerality of the Parcellaires and the complexity of the Demeter-certified Numen wines – refined through the rare ageing process under a natural film of flor yeast.
