2019 Grüner Veltliner Steinleithn

The soil is very poor on the southwest facing and 1.4 hectare Steinleithn single vineyard. With only a thin layer of topsoil, the name is easily earned - “Stein” means “stone.” The meat of the soil is rich in feldspar, quartz and mica and often doesn’t get ripe until November. Typically, the rule of thumb is Grüner likes water and Riesling doesn’t. This site splits the difference. The later pick fermented dry adds around 14% of alcohol, but the fruit is far more savory and acidity is by no means compromised. This isn’t the easy substitute for Sauvignon Blanc kind of Grüner, this is something to drink with a healthy portion of Tafelspitz (boiled beef) and any kind of roasted foul. Despite being lucky to offer the 2018, this is something that I wish we could afford to age even more.