Tegernseerhof Ried Kellerberg Riesling Smaragd, Wachau 2019

Tegernseerhof 2019 'Ried Kellerberg' Riesling Smaragd, Wachau, Austria

The historical roots of Tegernseerhof go back over 1000 years. Holy Roman Emperor Henry II granted the Benedictine monastery of Tegernsee two oxgangs of land in Wachau. In 1176, Tegernseerhof was built and named after its owner. Today, Tegernseerhof is owned by the Mittelbach family. The winery has been in their possession for five generations. The name has been preserved, like the ancient knowledge of viniculture, passed on from one generation to the next. 

Winemaker: Martin Mittelbach

Farming: Sustainable

Variety: Riesling

Terroir: The hill of Kellerberg faces south to southeast. It’s exposed to an open ravine that brings in a rush of cool air during the night and also allows the fruit to mature to ripeness without giving it excessive fruitiness. Tegernseerhof has six different parcels with a deep range of soils between loess and orthogneiss; the loess gives richness while the gneiss, tension and focus.

Vinification: 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.

Aging: Stainless steel for 6-9 months on the lees, filtered but not fined before bottling.

Critical Acclaim: 

• 95 points – Wine Enthusiast
• 96 points – Wine Advocate