Ried Zieregg Sauvignon Blanc Vinothek Reserve Große STK Lage 2019

Wine Description for Ried Zieregg Sauvignon Blanc Vinothek Reserve Große STK Lage 2019 by Tement

Colour & Appearance

Straw yellow with silvery edges fading away – a visual harbinger of the elegance and restraint of this extraordinary wine.

Nose

This Sauvignon Blanc resists quick judgement. Where other representatives of the variety loudly proclaim their aromatics, the Zieregg Reserve demands patience and a generous glass. After sufficient aeration, an enormously disciplined aromatic profile unfolds: sage, lemon balm and ginger dominate, underpinned by the citric-cedary notes of white pepper. Grapefruit zest, lemon blossom, blackcurrant leaf and green mango join in, whilst saline notes reminiscent of crushed oyster shells and wet chalk provide minerallic depth.

Palate

Compressed, concentrated, almost austere at first – then layer upon layer unfolds a wine of immense tension and complexity. The structure recalls a mille-feuille that unfolds across the palate. A distinctly muscular body, never clumsy, carried by an acidity that functions as the wine’s pulse. The herbally invigorating phenolics lend the wine a gripping texture that slightly roughens at the tongue’s edge and entices the next sip. This is no wine for the impatient – drunk young, it reveals its potential only in hints, yet its greatness is already palpable.

Finish

Long, taut and of minerallic precision. The herbal spice and salty freshness linger for minutes.

Terroir & Origin

The Ried Zieregg in South Styria is divided into 17 individual parcels. This wine comes from „Die Sieben Reihen“, an extremely steep, well-ventilated parcel with blue limestone marl soil. Old, small-berried vines produce concentrated, dense musts of extraordinary quality here.

Grape Variety & Vinification

100% Sauvignon Blanc, hand-harvested and spontaneously fermented. Maturation takes place over 36 months in neutral oak barrels – an unusually long ageing period that gives this wine its complexity and ageing potential.

Food Pairing Recommendations

Baked aubergine with pepper coulis, silken tofu with peas and langoustines or rabbit loin with spring leeks harmonise beautifully with the complexity and herbal spice of this wine.

Special Characteristics

A wine that demands time – both in the glass and in the cellar. Drinking it now borders on sacrilege, even if the quality already impresses. A prime example that great Sauvignon Blanc can be far more than aromatic fireworks.