Weingut Tegernseerhof

Wachau, Austria
Tegernseerhof vineyard
Tegernseerhof vineyard
Tegernseerhof vineyard
Tegernseerhof vineyard
Dürnstein, Wachau, Austria
Tegernseerhof vineyard
Tegernseerhof vineyard
Tegernseerhof vineyard
Tegernseerhof vineyard
Tegernseerhof vineyard
Tegernseerhof vineyard
Tegernseerhof vineyard
Tegernseerhof vineyard
Tegernseerhof vineyard

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All writing and photography are original works by Ted Vance.

Short Summary

Fifth generation winegrower, Martin Mittelbach runs Tegernseerhof, a winery that dates back to 1176. The Wachau is a climatic tug-of-war between eastern Pannonian warm winds and cold western and northern winds. Organically certified in the early 2020s, Tegernseerhof’s vineyards are mostly located in the Wachau’s eastern end on gneiss and loess. Martin’s razor-sharp wines are aged exclusively in steel.

Full Length Story

Martin Mittelbach is a Wachau insider with an outsider’s perspective. He is the fifth generation of Mittelbachs to run the historical Tegernseerhof, an estate that goes further back than 1000 years. Despite the estate’s historical merit you couldn’t find a much more progressive winemaker with his own set of standards and way of thinking in this region. Martin took over the estate at a very young age and immediately changed the way things were done. As you could imagine, there was some friction with his father who preferred to make wines more on the sweeter side. Today, you would be hard pressed to find a more dry and straight style in the Wachau. The grapes are harvested and sorted rigorously to take out any botrytis grapes and then vinified and raised in stainless steel. They are harvested with no botrytis to keep the wines focused and tense. His wines are like his personality: intense, focused and highly intellectual. These laser beams are as far away from the often baroque style that can be found in this region. In every level his wines excel and can stand tall next to any of the greatest producers in Austria.

Weingut Tegernseerhof Ried Steinertal Riesling

Weingut Tegernseerhof - 2023 Wachau Riesling Smaragd “Ried Steinertal”

Price: $78.00
Size: 750ml
Availability: 

24+ in stock

Type of Wine: White
Grape(s): 100% Riesling
Style: High acid, Mineral

GROWER OVERVIEW

Fifth generation winegrower, Martin Mittelbach runs the historical Wachau winery, Tegernseerhof, which dates back more than a thousand years. Organically certified in the early 2020s, their Riesling vineyards are mostly located on the steep upper terraces composed of gneiss, and the Grüner Veltliners (except the cru, Hohereck, which is on a steep gneiss slope) are on lower loess terraces of the Wachau’s most eastern end, Loiben. All the grapes are harvested by hand and carefully sorted to remove any botrytis grapes that add unnecessary weight to Martin’s razor-sharp wines aged on their lees and exclusively in steel vats. All grapes are whole-cluster pressed and fermented naturally (unless sluggish) and sometimes go through malolactic fermentation, though in principle it is not desired. All wines are filtered, a necessity to remove any remaining malic acid bacteria from the inhibited malolactic fermentations, and the Grüner Veltliners are fined, also a necessary technique for this extremely protein-heavy variety.

VINEYARD DETAILS

Tegernseerhof’s Ried Steinertal Riesling was planted 25-50 years ago (2023) facing southeast to southwest at 231-298m on very steep terraces. The bedrock and topsoil are gneiss.

CELLAR NOTES

Whole cluster maceration 6-36 hours. Natural fermentation in steel 1-2 months at 23°C max. Aged on lees 6-9 months in steel. First sulfites normally added after primary. Malolactic is rare. Fined and filtered.

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