Ried Grassnitzberg Sauvignon Blanc Reserve
⏳ Drinking Window
2023 - 2032
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Seared scallops with herbal beurre blanc, poached Dover sole with lemon butter, roasted trout with wild fennel
✨ Technical Specifications
Perched on dramatic south-facing amphitheater slopes, Ried Grassnitzberg features calcareous sedimentary marl, limestone reef gravels, and sandy clay soils that shape an intensely mineral-driven expression. Fruit from organically and biodynamically tended old vines undergoes spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts. The Reserve designation indicates extended elevage, spending up to several years on fine lees in large neutral neutral oak casks, bottled unfiltered to preserve phenolic precision and geological tension.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1959 by Josef and Edina Tement, Weingut Tement rose to global acclaim under Manfred Tement, who transformed the family's modest holdings into an international benchmark for Austrian viticulture. Perched atop the rugged limestone ridge of Ried Zieregg along the border of Slovenia in Südsteiermark, the estate commands precipitous slopes composed of coralline limestone, marl, and schist. Today directed by Manfred alongside sons Armin and Stefan, the domaine converted fully to biodynamics, earning Demeter and respekt-BIODYN certifications. Cellar philosophy hinges on unhurried, low-intervention vinification, spontaneous native-yeast fermentations, neutral oak casks, and prolonged maturation on fine lees without fining or unnecessary filtration. The estate's benchmark bottlings—most notably Ried Zieregg Sauvignon Blanc, Ried Zieregg IZ Reserve, and site-driven expressions of Morillon and Weissburgunder—display tension, saline minerality, structural depth, and profound aging potential.
🍇 Grapes
Sauvignon Blanc
🍷 ABV
13-13.5%