Gelber Muskateller – Ried Steinriegl – Wohlmuth

The Wohlmuth Gelber Muskateller Ried Steinriegl 2019 is an elegant, fragrant, dry white wine from the Steinriegl vineyard in Styria, Austria. Its vines grow on absolutely steep vineyard slopes planted on slate soils. Influenced by the Illyrian climate, which brings warm winds from the Mediterranean and cool winds from the northern Alps to Kitzeck in Southern Styria, and with much manual labor on the steep slopes, which demands an admirable connection to the homeland, white wines with a distinctive, complex fruit expression are created.

The Gelber Muskateller Steinriegl from Winery Wohlmuth is a wonderfully floral, enormously juicy representative of its grape variety. On the nose and palate, it displays its aromatic spectrum of floral notes of elderflower and orange blossom, a hint of yellow rose, white tropical fruit, ripe grapefruit, cassis, mandarin zest, a touch of acacia honey, nutmeg, fine extract sweetness, and always accompanied by a fine slate spice, a wonderfully cool minerality, finesse, and precision. A great Muskateller with aging potential. Here, the ingenious interplay of grape variety, soil, location, and winemaking craftsmanship, which has a 200-year-old tradition at the Wohlmuths, is evident.

Gelber Muskateller – from the Steinriegl vineyard

The Steinriegl vineyard, or as the Austrians say, Ried Steinriegl, is one of the best sites in Southern Styria, documented for centuries. It is an Erste STK Lage Südsteiermark DAC.

The vineyard is located at an altitude of 400-540m above sea level and is quite steep with a 50-78% gradient. The soils consist of Paleozoic slate. The upper part of Ried Steinriegl faces south, the lower part south-southwest. With the 2018 vintage, this special site, which produces complex wines with pronounced minerality, was classified as Erste STK Lage Südsteiermark DAC.

Due to its special orientation, high altitude, and openness to the nearby Alps, this vineyard experiences particularly rapid and strong cooling in the evening, which leads to intense aroma development. The extremely barren, red, phyllitic slate soil gives the wines their very unique spicy character.

The grapes for this Wohlmuth Muskateller are harvested very late in selective hand-picking. A short maceration period and very slow and gentle pressing, as well as temperature-controlled fermentation at approx. 20°C in stainless steel tanks, preserve fragrance and fruit. Subsequent battonage and 11 months of aging on fine lees in large used wooden barrels ensure a full mouthfeel and a fine creaminess.

The label of the 2019 vintage shows a painting by the Viennese artist Walter Schmögner, who partly lives in Southern Styria.

a single vineyard wine and its values

• 12.5% vol. Alcohol
• 6.3 g/l Acidity
• 2.5 g/l Residual sugar