2013 Stadt Krems Riesling Schieferterrassen

Stadt Krems

Austria / Kremstal / Stadt Krems

The terraced plantings are located in the delimited winegrowing area of Kremstal, one of Austria's foremost regions for fine white wine. The grapes for Schieferterrassen are from two slaty vineyards: Kögl and Gaisberg. Kögl is home to south-facing, narrow stone terraces behind the old town of Stein. The vines are protected from westerly winds by the Steiner Schreck and Kremser Kreuzberg. The soil, which lies over mica slate, is stony and extremely meagre. Gaisberg is a small hilltop site directly on the Danube River neighbouring the famous Pfaffenberg site in Stein. Its old stone terraces face south and are very well ventilated. The subsoil comprises mica slate and amphibolite.
Characterisation:
Schieferterrassen is highly elegant and needs time on air to develop its characteristics. It's an outstanding terroir wine with clear schist aromas and plenty of personality.
Technical Analysis:
Alcohol content: 13%
Acidity: 7.2 g/l
Residual sugar: 4.5 g/l

Huon Hooke

Sydney Morning Herald

94 points

With a medium-full colour and mango, pawpaw and poached-fruit aromas together with some toasty development and a little reduction, it's quite complex. The palate is rich and generous with a tickle of sweetness and bright acidity to balance. Very smart riesling.

Gary Walsh

The Wine Front

91 points

Touch of smokiness, honey, lifted, fresh apple and ripe lemon. Fuller flavour, but not heavy, with a slightly edgy feel to the ripe lemon and spice flavours. Some nuts and a tangy finish of good length. A little dirty and funky, but in a good way.

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About Stadt Krems

Weingut Stadt Krems boasts more than 550 years of history, making it one of the oldest wine producers in the whole of Europe. Since July 2003 it has been managed by a young, innovative team directed by Fritz Miesbauer. Its flagships are Riesling and Grüner Veltliner (over 90%). Fritz and the team cultivate 31 hectares of vineyards on the estate, whose holdings are exclusively on the best terraced locations of the city of Krems. Grüner Veltliner leads the plantings on the loess soil vineyards to the east of the city. To the west, bordering the Wachau, the landscape is mainly formed of small terraces on steep mountain slopes of gneiss and slate. This is where the vineyards of Pfaffenberg, Grillenparz, Wachtberg and Kögl are located. Riesling leads the way here, with good Grüner Veltliner also grown.

About

Fritz Miesbauer came to the Kremstal having built a stellar reputation for himself at Domäne Wachau (formerly known as Freie Weingärtner Wachau), which he turned into one of the world's finest cooperative wineries. Since 2003, he and his progressive team have been taking Weingut Stadt Krems to a new level. In addition, Fritz also runs the vineyards owned by the monastery at Stift Göttweig, with excellent support from cellarmaster Leopold Figl and Franz-Josef Gansberger. Fritz is a leader and visionary, adept at motivating his team into delivering the best from these world-class vineyards.