Grüner Veltliner Ried Schlossberg 1.ÖTW 2023

A powerful, dry Grüner Veltliner at 12.5% ABV that shows fruit and tension in equal measure: juicy in its approach, taut in structure. It already drinks with pleasure today and has the reserves to age for years in the cellar.

The Ried Schlossberg lies on a plateau behind the Wagram ridge; the vineyards around the former Winkelberg castle face south. Beneath the thick, fertile loess layer lie Ice Age terrace gravels deposited by the Danube, and below those, clayey-silty Miocene marine sediments with sand layers pointing to periodic storm events. The Wagram itself is a fossil coastline of the Tethys Sea.

Grüner Veltliner from 50-year-old vines. Hand-harvested in late September/early October, followed by spontaneous fermentation in a large 2000-litre wooden cask.

Striking already on the nose: dried apricots, mango and orange, joined by a dazzling floral bouquet and exotic spices such as cinnamon and cardamom, wrapped in an earthy, stony depth. On the palate, juicy yet taut and demanding, the gently sweet-seeming fruit accompanied by lively acidity and distinctly saline notes, carried by a spicy nuance and a piquant tannic structure.

Karl Fritsch has run the Weinberghof in Oberstockstall since 1999 and has farmed the 25 hectares biodynamically since 2006, as a founding member of respekt-BIODYN. Hand-drawn diagrams of lunar phases, cosmic rhythms and elemental forces hang in the cellar — a daily working basis rather than decoration. In late 2007, the estate was admitted to the circle of Traditionsweingüter Österreich (Austria's traditional wine estates).