Tegernseerhof Ried Schutt Gruner Veltliner Smaragd 2015
Grape Varietals & Region: The Schütt location offers perfect conditions with its sandy, stony and deep soil profile. It's an exclusive vineyard planted by only 2 winemakers, Tegernseerhof & Weingut Knoll
Ried Schütt sits beneath Höhereck inside of a combe (known as the Mental Gorge, or Mentalgraben) where water eroded the eastern neighboring hillside of the Loibenberg vineyard. The combe brings in cold air from the Waldviertel forest behind and above the vineyards, contributing tension to balance out its deep power. The vineyard is relatively flat (an unusual look for a great cru site) and composed primarily of hard orthogneiss bedrock and decomposed gneiss topsoil with a mixture of different sized gneiss stones and sand deposited by the water flow.
Taste Profile: The Grüner Veltliner impresses with its yellow fruity aromas and peppery spice, plus a creamy and fresh structure. A lovely, almost floral freshness hovers on the the yeasty nose, adding a notion of calendula to a pear accent. The palate has a lovely, concentrated, slender creaminess that seems to hold a whole world of citrus freshness. Subtle, peppery savoriness lies at the very core, alongside zesty, vivid lemon
Winemaking Process: Grapes are harvested by hand in small bins. They are whole cluster macerated between 6-36 hours depending on the vintage (higher acid vintages longer, warm years less). The first sulfur addition rarely happens before fermentation but is dependent on the quality of the fruit—perfect fruit may not be sulfured until after primary fermentation. On average about 2/3 of the fermentation is natural and about 1/3 neutral yeasts (used if not naturally started after 10-12 days). Primary fermentation lasts between 1-2 months and is kept below 23 degrees C. The wines sometimes make natural malolactic fermentation.
