Placeholder Image
SommSelect

Geyerhof, Grüner Veltliner, WildWux

Lower Austria, Austria 2012 (750mL)
$23.00
/
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Your cart is empty.
  • In stock, ready to ship
  • Inventory on the way
Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol
SommSelect

Geyerhof, Grüner Veltliner, WildWux


Geyerhof’s Grüner hails from the Kremstal and is made in a style reminiscent of the Wachau’s late harvest, Smagrad. Austria’s three most prestigious wine appellations for Grüner Veltliner all rest within the striking river valley region of Lower Austria; as the Danube snakes its way downstream from Vienna, Kamptal is on your right, Kremstal is on your left and the Wachau is just a bit further down the river. Kremstal’s unique geology boasts sandy loam as well as loess soils, which are a result of windblown glacial deposits from the ice age and lend a creamy richness to the wine.
 
Geyerhof’s history itself is as magnificent and storied as the landscape. Winemaker Ilse Maier’s family on her maternal side has been crafting wine in Kremstal’s Oberfucha village for over 400 years. With a lineage that includes a concession to ship their wine on the Danube by Archduchess Marie Thérèse herself in the 17th century and a cellar that once housed Napoleon’s wine rations while campaigning nearby, Weingut Geyerhof has enough history to garner quite a reputation. Legacy, however, is not all that sets this winery apart. 

An early pioneer of organic viticulture in Austria, Ilsa has not only worked in, “preserving nature and utilizing the vitality of the soil,” on her twenty hectares, she has sought to educate fellow winemakers on the benefits of creating a sound eco-system with her book, Praxisbuch Bioweinbau. Further, each bottle of WildWux goes towards environmental protection and revitalization of wildlife habitat. Ilse’s son, Josef, has been studying agriculture and winemaking in Vienna in an effort to uphold the family business as well and is already contributing by way of marketing. Ilse’s 2012 WildWux Grüner is harvested manually in mid-October. This wine enjoys ample lees contact and ferments entirely in stainless steel. The result is a stunning wine on the riper end of the spectrum that possesses the spicy, savory delights of the varietal along with a rich, unctuous mouthfeel.

This wine has a moderate golden yellow core that moves to pale gold reflections on the rim, showing a touch of development on sight. The powerful nose is spicy and slightly tropical with honeyed undertones yielding aromas of yellow mango, ripe peach and yellow apple, highlighted by honeysuckle, white pepper, seared turnips, white mushrooms and crushed rocks. The palate offers up an almost full-bodied wine with an oily texture and just a subtle touch of residual sugar; at only 5 grams per liter, it less than most Champagne. The finish of this wine is incredibly complex with the spicy, honeyed aspects mingling with a touch of minerality for a lush finish that can handle a wide variety of food from Indian through an array of Asian cuisine. Although, if I were serving this wine to friends at home, I would prepare a traditional Viennese dish. The last time I was in Vienna, I enjoyed the great delights of the city by dining at the legendary Plachutta and eating Tafelspitz with some of my favorite people on earth who all happened to be in Vienna at the time. This boiled beef and root vegetable heavenly ensemble is one of the most incredible culinary experiences and belongs on any food lover’s bucket list. In an effort to recreate this experience for you, here is the Tafelspitz recipe from the classic Viennese hotspot. It is well worth the effort I assure you, but the final result will depend on the ingredients used so choose wisely.
Placeholder Image
Country
Austria
Region
Lower Austria
Sub-Region
AustriaKremstal
Soil
Loess and Sandy Loam
Farming
Organic
Blend
Grüner Veltliner
Alcohol
13.0
OAK
None

Austria

Northeastern Austria

Weinviertel

Considered by most to be the oldest growing zone in Austria, Weinviertel is also, geographically, the largest in the country and covers the vast, northeastern expanse of Lower Austria, stretching from the western border of Slovakia, following the Danube inland and veering up to the southern border of Czechia. Its name, which translates to “wine quarter,” reflects the region’s rich, ancient wine heritage and, according to the Weinviertel DAC website, there are “7,000 years of artifacts to prove it.”

Northeastern Austria

Wachau

Austria’s Wachau appellation is the country’s most acclaimed region. About an hour northwest of Vienna along the Danube River, the vista of the steep, terraced vineyards of the Wachau creates a magnificent landscape akin to a verdant, ancient amphitheater—it is a UNESCO World Heritage site, after all. With rich and unique soils here of löess and gneiss, which lend vivid minerality to the wine.

Eastern Austria

Burgenland

The Burgenland appellation, running along Austria’s border with Hungary southeast of Vienna, has a diverse topography and a mix of soils, with more primary rock and slate at higher locations and dense loams in the rolling hills that extend toward the Pannonian plain.

Southeastern Austria

Steiermark

The region of Styria (Steiermark) is in southeastern Austria which sits near the border with Slovenia. This area is studded with long-extinct volcanoes whose deposits are a key component of the local soils and the vineyards benefit from a classic Austrian push-pull of cool Alpine air and warmer “Pannonian” currents from the east.

Others We Love