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Neumeister, Sauvignon Blanc “Steirische Klassik”

Styria, Austria 2017 (750mL)
$29.00
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Neumeister, Sauvignon Blanc “Steirische Klassik”

As most of our subscribers know, I love Austrian white wine: Grüner Veltliner and Riesling from the Danube River Valley would both be “desert island” picks for me, but today I’ve got another must-have to add to the mix: Styrian Sauvignon Blanc!
Everyone on the SommSelect team was so deeply impressed with this 2017 from Weingut Neumeister we had to give it a platform—so please, don’t be scared off by all the exotic language on the label (Vulkanland? Did Mr. Spock make this wine?) and trust me when I say this is one of the most beautiful, distinctive Sauvignon Blancs I’ve tasted in some time. Neumeister’s steep hillside vineyards in southeastern Austria are rooted in the kind of chalky limestone soil that Sauvignon Blanc loves, and the result is a wine that flirts with Sancerre stylistically but ultimately has its own compelling story to tell. As aromatically assertive and distinctive as Sauvignon Blanc is, this is also one of the world’s great “noble” varieties, one eminently capable of expressing terroir—and once you get a look at the terroir behind this one, the deal is sealed. Perfumed aromas, spicy minerality, citrusy acidity…this is Sauvignon Blanc all right, and it’s delicious!
As we often do with Austrian and German wines, let’s start by decoding the label a bit: “Steirische Klassik” means that this is a classic Styrian wine. The region of Styria (Steirmark) is in southeastern Austria and includes winemaking subzones such as Vulkanland (formerly Südoststeiermark), which sits near Austria’s border with Slovenia. This area is studded with long-extinct volcanoes whose deposits are a key component of the local soils, although the Neumeister vineyards are mostly defined by limestone deposits from an ancient seabed. Brothers Christoph and Mattias Neumeister maintain 35 hectares of organically farmed vineyards in the bucolic town of Straden, a village which could rightly be called the Sancerre of Austria: Sauvignon Blanc is a major focus of their production, which is more than 90% white overall and includes a bottling from the “Buchberg” vineyard, Styria’s oldest plot of Sauvignon Blanc (it was first planted in 1937).

From well-positioned vineyards that benefit from a classic Austrian push-pull of cool Alpine air and warmer “Pannonian” currents from the east, the Neumeisters hand-harvest their organically farmed grapes and meticulously hand-sort them before initiating fermentation on native yeasts. This 2017 was left to macerate on its skins for a bit during fermentation in stainless steel, lending a touch of spice to the finished product; it aged on its lees (spent yeast cells) in stainless steel for about six months before bottling, lending depth and texture. It really is the complete Sauvignon Blanc package, neither overly “green” nor overly intense in its fruit expression.

In the glass, the wine is a pale straw-gold with copper and silver highlights, with the kind of aromas that transport you to a dewy, flower-strewn meadow in Springtime: scents of juicy citrus fruits, white peach, cut grass, tarragon, mint, white pepper, lilacs, and wet stones carry over to a mouth-wateringly dry, medium-bodied palate. It’s fresh and lip-smacking but also sneakily persistent, with a floral, mineral finish that seems to go on for minutes. With Spring right around the corner this wine is just a perfect choice for all the beautiful green vegetables about to be headed our way: It is ready to enjoy now at 45-50 degrees in all-purpose white wine stems, either as a vibrant apéritif or paired with a seasonal preparation as in the attached recipe. I can’t stress enough how much this wine rewards a trip outside your comfort zone. Don’t pass it by!
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Country
Austria
Region
Styria
Sub-Region
AustriaVulkanland
Soil
Limestone & Clay
Farming
Organic
Blend
Sauvignon Blanc 100%
Alcohol
12.5
OAK
None
TEMP.
45-50
Glassware
All-Purpose Whites
Drinking
Now-2022
Pairing
Fava Beans w/ Red Onion & Mint

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.

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