Ried Ottenberg Veitlhansl Welschriesling
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed 3–10 years from release
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Backhendl (Styrian fried chicken) with pumpkin seed oil, freshwater trout with brown butter, or aged goat cheese.
✨ Technical Specifications
Perched on the steep slopes of Ried Ottenberg, the Veitlhansl parcel features calcareous marl known regionally as Opok, interspersed with limestone rubble. Sourced from mature vines managed under biodynamic practices, this single-vineyard Welschriesling reframes the variety away from simple tavern wine into a structured, age-worthy cru. Grapes undergo manual harvesting and gentle whole-bunch pressing before spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts. The wine ages extendedly on the fine lees in large neutral Austrian oak casks, avoiding fining or heavy filtration to preserve maritime salinity, savory herbal breadth, and 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
Welschriesling
🍷 ABV
11.5-12.5%