Ried Zieregg Steilriegel Morillon Große STK Lage 2020

Wine Description for Ried Zieregg Steilriegel Morillon Große STK Lage 2020 from Tement

Colour & Appearance

Pale straw yellow with vibrant green reflections – a wine that announces its youthfulness and tension visually from the outset.

Nose

Here unfolds the full complexity of the Zieregg terroir: apple skins and ripe pears meet a fascinating herbal spice of borage, oregano and ground elder. Beneath lies a mineral layer of wet slate and salted lemons. The wine is still closed, a promise of future greatness.

Palate

Impressively linear and precise – not a gram of superfluous fat. The structure is crystalline, carried by elegantly integrated acidity and sinewy extract. Fine phenolics contour the tongue’s edge with surgical precision. This is no opulent Chardonnay, but a wine of athletic elegance and enormous ageing potential. Bruce Lee, not Schwarzenegger – this analogy hits the mark perfectly.

Finish

Long, mineral and vibrant with freshness. The acidity carries the fruit far and leaves a saline, slightly bitter aftertaste that invites the next sip.

Terroir & Origin

The Steilriegel in the south-western part of Ried Zieregg is an extraordinary site: 16 million-year-old coral limestone, 50% slope gradient, south-westerly exposure between 400 and 480 metres altitude. The approximately 40-year-old vines are rooted in loose brown earth on this geological treasure of South Styria.

Grape Variety & Vinification

100% Chardonnay (called Morillon in Austria), spontaneously fermented and aged for 24 months on fine lees in small oak barrels. Bottled unfiltered and unfined – artisanal purism in its purest form.

Food Pairing Recommendations

The minerality and acidity structure demand precise partners: skate wing with lemon butter and capers, young spring cabbage with spring turnips or surprisingly Portuguese roasted kid goat. The wine pairs well with both delicate and more robust flavours.

Special Features

First Große STK Lage under the new, stricter statutes – only one grape variety per vineyard site permitted. Armin Tement restructured Ried Zieregg for this purpose. This wine requires time: decanting is essential, even better are several years of cellar storage to unfold its full potential.