Grüner Veltliner Riede Steiner Schreck "Dritter Akt" unfiltriert 2018

A Grüner Veltliner that demands patience. At first, it remains self-contained; decanted and served in large glasses, it reveals clarity and brightness coupled with profound depth. At 11.5% ABV, it stays lean without ever feeling thin.

The Riede Steiner Schreck near Krems is exceptionally steep. The vines grow on small terraces four to five metres deep over Gföhl gneiss and granite, at around 320 metres above sea level. The root systems are 100 years old, the canopy reaches 2.4 metres, and the cultivation is Demeter-certified biodynamic.

The Grüner Veltliner was harvested on 22 August—roughly 65 days after flowering and earlier than ever before—physiologically ripe with a pH of 3.0. Pressing took place extremely slowly over two days using a custom-designed 100-tonne basket press under completely reductive conditions; afterwards, the juice was allowed time to brown. For spontaneous fermentation, Markus Lang adds 3 to 5% destemmed whole berries, which ferment intracellularly and steadily drive the process in the cellar's constant 9 °C environment. It matured for two years on the full lees in large Stockinger wooden casks, with minimal sulphur addition, and was bottled unfiltered in November 2020 at pH 3.2.

The nose reveals lanolin, a touch of lemon curd, cassis, crisp apple, mirabelle plum, and herbs. On the palate, the wine becomes demanding: spice notes of ginger, turmeric, and pepper, an acidity drive unusual for the variety, alongside a chalky texture more reminiscent of limestone than schist. The finish is saline, long, and elegant.

Asparagus rösti with fried egg, halibut with chamomile beurre blanc and stewed mirabelle plums, or Meyer lemon-cured black cod with creamy mashed potatoes and Breton churned vanilla butter.

«Dritter Akt» is the estate's only Grüner Veltliner aged entirely in large wooden casks. The cellar is located in a tunnel deep within the gneiss bedrock at a constant 9 °C. Production is around 12,000 bottles per year.