Gelber Muskateller – Ried Steinriegl – Wohlmuth
The Wohlmuth Gelber Muskateller Ried Steinriegl 2021 is an elegant, aromatic, dry white wine from the Steinriegl vineyard in Styria, Austria. Its vines grow on incredibly 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 extensive manual labor on the steep slopes, which requires an admirable connection to the homeland, white wines with an unmistakable, complex fruit expression are produced.
The Gelber Muskateller Steinriegl from Wohlmuth winery 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, yellow tropical fruit, pineapple, and lime, delicately suggesting mango, a touch of lychee honey, nutmeg, fine extract sweetness, and always with a subtle slate spice, a wonderfully cool minerality, finesse, and precision. A great Muskateller with aging potential and an elaborate acid structure. This shows the brilliant interplay of grape variety, soil, location, and winemaking craftsmanship, which has a 200-year-old tradition at Wohlmuth's.
Gelber Muskateller – from the Steinriegl vineyard
The vineyard, or as the Austrians say, the Riede Steinriegl, is one of the best sites in Southern Styria, documented for centuries. It is a Erste STK Lage Südsteiermark DAC.
The vineyard is located at 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 of distinct minerality, has been classified as Erste STK Lage Südsteiermark DAC.
Due to its special orientation, high altitude, and openness to the nearby Alps, this vineyard experiences a particularly rapid and strong cooling in the evening, which leads to intense flavor development. The extremely barren, red, phyllitic slate soil gives the wines their unique spicy characteristic.
The grapes for this Wohlmuth Muskateller are harvested very late through selective hand-picking. A short maceration period and a very slow and gentle pressing, as well as temperature-controlled fermentation at approx. 20°C in stainless steel tanks, preserve fragrance and fruit. Subsequent bâtonnage and 11 months of aging on fine lees in large used wooden barrels ensure a full mouthfeel and a delicate creaminess.
The appealingly modern label is designed each year by a different young artist. For 2021, it is Der Schwarm (The Swarm) by Thomas Riess. The internationally active artist, born in Tyrol in 1970 and now living in Vienna, Riess explores humans and their perception of time and reality in a multimedia reality. As a graduate of the graphic arts class at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, he also finds his creative expression through drawing, collage, and video.
a Single Vineyard Wine and its characteristics
- Origin Austria
- Growing region Southern Styria
- Vineyard Ried Steinriegl
- Grape variety Gelber Muskateller
- vegan
- sustainably certified
- 12 % vol. Alcohol
- 6.6 g/l Acidity
- 1.1 g/l Residual sugar