Ried Heiligenstein Riesling 1.ÖTW 2022

A deep, elegant Riesling, golden yellow in the glass. The nose shows candied lemon and lemon curd, orange zest and baby pineapple, followed by white stone fruit and ripe pears, a touch of verbena and dill, cool stone and lanolin.

Heiligenstein is the most renowned and traditional Riesling single vineyard in Lower Austria's Kamptal, the first in the region to be mentioned by name and marked on maps. The terraced slope faces south and southwest; feldspar-rich reddish-brown sandstone, coarse conglomerates and siltstone come to the surface, along with volcanic quartz porphyry and loess. Cool air from the Waldviertel flows down through the Kamptal from the north, while Pannonian warmth pushes up from the south. These temperature swings keep the grapes' aromatics vivid.

Riesling, selectively hand-picked on 8 and 17 October 2022 into 20-kilo crates. After a period of skin contact and whole-cluster pressing, the must fermented spontaneously for six weeks in stainless steel. Ageing lasted ten months on full lees in 600-litre oak casks, followed by another eight months on fine lees in a large oak cask.

Depth, density and fullness, carried by fine extract sweetness and great substance. Ripe, bright acidity keeps the fruit in shape, and the minerality sparkles. The finish is long, tracing cassis, blossom, citrus and stone fruit.

Heiligenstein ranks among the First Growths (1.ÖTW). Fred Loimer, who has run the winery in Langenlois since 1998, switched to biodynamic farming in 2006 and co-founded respekt-BIODYN a year later, whose standards also cover the quality of cellar work. 13.0% vol., vinified dry.