Malat

video malat

Photography and writing by Ted Vance.

It is never easy to fill the shoes of a powerful and polarizing figure, like Gerald Malat. Gerald’s tall, handsome and forever smiling son, is doing just that. In fact, the shoe size seems to have gotten even bigger under Michael’s direction. The previous level has been elevating under Michael’s eagle-like eyes which have set him on his upward climb. There is something extraordinary and unique about the expression of these vineyards under Michael’s direction. Even the entry-level wines find absolute deliciousness and express enough intellect to enamor us wine geeks. There is a range of yellow fruits and spiciness that walks you through a stone fruit grove and into a baker’s shop first thing in the morning. These wines seem to be born with a natural gravitation towards the highest level and each vintage seems to trump the previous one. The limit of the quality this estate is churning out has not yet been established.

Kremstal is one of the most recent DAC to be added to Austria. Founded in 2007, just east of the Wachau, this large appellation is divided into three significant zones. The most western part of the valley, near Stein, is primarily rocky soils, ideal for the elegant, yet intense, Riesling varietal. As you move east towards the historic town of Krems, deep loess soils cover the vineyards allowing Gruner Veltliner to express its highly aromatic and fresh nature. The third zone of the Kremstal is located on the southern banks of the Danube River, where some of the most pleasant wine villages are found. The deep valley is protected by the northern cool winds, though the warm Pannonian winds from the east are still strikingly present, resulting in a riper style wine.

Malat - 2019 Riesling, ‘Silberbichl’

Price: $50.00
Size: 750ml
Availability: 

24+ in stock

Type of Wine: White
Grape(s): 100% Riesling
Style: Mineral, Elegant and Aromatic

GROWER OVERVIEW

Ninth-generation winegrower, Michael Malat took the lead from his father, Gerald, at their Kremstal winery that dates to 1722. One of Austria’s prime Grüner Veltliner and Riesling regions, Kremstal is a climatic tug-of-war between eastern Pannonian warm winds and cold western Alpine air. It’s home to a great diversity of soil types on large terraces, from loess (wind-blown calcareous fine sands), gravels and various rock formations of limestone, crystalline, mica-schist and granulite. Most of their classic range is raised in ancient 50-100ha wooden vats, lending a unique flavor profile and rounded quality to their finely etched wines. Malat is also historically connected to some small-grower Austrian sparkling wines and is often considered to be the country’s top Sekt producer.

VINEYARD DETAILS

Ried Steinbühel 1ÖTW is on the right bank of the Danube. Planted in the 1990s, the vines face northeast at 210-250m on gentle terraces. The bedrock is mica schist and the topsoil a loam of mica schist, calcareous loess and limestone conglomerate.

CELLAR NOTES

Natural fermentation in stainless and aged in 2000L wood barrels for 6-8 months in old. First sulfites added after pressing. No fining or filtration.

About The Wine

The middle-aged vines of this wine average 35 years of age and are grown on gradual terraces of loamy loess soils and mica schist with a northeastern aspect. Like most of the top range of wines from Michael Malat, this Riesling from Silberbichl (which translates to Silver hill) is fermented in stainless steel with natural yeasts before being racked into large 2,000-liter wood casks.

Easily the most mineral-driven wine in the range (and charming as hell), this elegant wine is layered with aromas of mint, exotic green and blue fruits, and notes of sweet watermelon rind, green melon, and kiwi that leap from the glass. On the palate, a range of early-ripening strawberries, red currant, lemon juice, lemon thyme, chervil, and yarrow add to the appeal of the wine. Perfectly amare and mouth-coating, the finish rests long on the mid- and back-palates, mercilessly drilling into the back of the mouth. After some time in the glass, the wine reveals unripe yellow plums, peach pit, and preserved lemon that deepen the wine’s complex range of pleasantries. This is Austria’s spring in a bottle.