Ried Zieregg Steilriegel Morillon Große STK Lage 2021

Wine description for Ried Zieregg Steilriegel Morillon Große STK Lage 2021 by Tement

Colour & appearance

Bright lemon yellow with fine greenish reflections – clear, cool and possessing that taut luminosity which often distinguishes limestone-driven Chardonnays from great vineyard sites.

Nose

A fascinatingly complex interplay of turmeric, curry, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf, accompanied by coriander, white pepper, cardamom and star anise. Beneath these emerge apricot, Nashi pear and warm peach, later joined by mango, pineapple and persimmon. Floral notes of jasmine, daisy and orchid meet a finely stony, almost almond-like coolness.

Palate

Powerful yet never heavy: limestone, smoke and a fine phenolic edge give the wine its contour. The acidity is lively and present, yet elegantly cushioned by a creamy lees texture. Fruit, spice and saline depth interlock with precision, complemented by delicate, well-integrated tannins. A wine with drive, tension and genuine stature.

Finish

Long, cool and impressively mineral. On the aftertaste linger citrus, white pepper, roasted pineapple and a subtle hint of saffron – dense, clear and with remarkable ageing potential.

Terroir & origin

The Steilriegel is one of four distinctive parcels within Zieregg, that celebrated Große Lage on the Austrian-Slovenian border which has brought the Tement estate renown far beyond Southern Styria. Here the vines grow on a south-west-facing slope at roughly 400 to 480 metres altitude, with an incline of approximately 50%. The soil of loose brown earth over sparse coral limestone shapes the cool structure and smoky-mineral line of this wine. The roughly 41-year-old vines are planted across 3.27 hectares with around 16,000 vines.

Grape variety & vinification

In Styria, Morillon is the local name for Chardonnay – here expressed in a particularly terroir-driven, profound style. The grapes from Steilriegel undergo spontaneous fermentation and are then aged for thirty months on the fine lees in old, small 228-litre oak barrels. The wine is bottled without filtration. With 1.9 g/l residual sugar and 7.2 g/l acidity, it displays an impressively taut balance at 14.0% abv.

Food recommendations

A wine for precise, aromatic cuisine: sole with brown butter, turbot with lemon thyme, guinea fowl with morels, saddle of veal in a light jus or mature Comté. It also exerts a captivating, almost magnetic pull alongside dishes featuring curry, lemongrass or saffron.

Special characteristics

Steilriegel is among those parcels of Zieregg that speak a particularly distinct language at Tement: cooler, more angular, smokier and of great inner density. The fact that this part of the vineyard also boasts the longest family association within the Tement estate lends the wine added significance. It embodies that facet of Southern Styria where Chardonnay appears not soft and broad, but taut, mineral and of impressive length – a great, long-lived white wine with a clear signature.