HM Lang | Krems | Grüner Veltliner Riede Steiner Schreck “Kalt und Klar” unfiltriert | 2020 | 750ml | bio

Description

Product description for HM Lang Grüner Veltliner Riede Steiner Schreck “Kalt und Klar” unfiltriert 2020 (bio)

Wine Information

The Grüner Veltliner comes from the Steiner Schreck vineyard. The site is very steep, with vines planted on small terraces around four to five meters deep, characterized by Gföller gneiss and granite. The vines (the roots, not the vines) are 100 years old and are cultivated according to Demeter standards. They have a 2.4 meter high canopy. The harvest took place around September 12, 2020. This early harvest resulted in an alcohol content of only 10.5% vol. The Grüner Veltliner was pressed extremely slowly over two days on a self-designed 100-ton tree press. The pressing process itself is completely reductive, but afterward the juice is given time to brown, meaning it is deliberately exposed to oxidation. The juice fermented spontaneously and matured on the full lees in amphorae for two years. After 30 months, it was bottled unfiltered in March 2022. During fermentation, Lang added 5 to 6% destemmed grapes, which ferment intercellularly (as in carbonic maceration), thus continually re-initiating the fermentation process despite the constant 9°C in the cellar. Later, the wine was minimally sulfurized. The pH of the bottled wine is 3.04, and the total acidity is 8.4 g/l. Only minimal sulfurization was added in very small doses over several days.

Colour

Light to medium straw yellow

Nose

The Kalt und Klar is not named that for nothing. It is Markus Lang’s most purist wine. It is also the only wine that initially shows a hint of reduction, which quickly disappears with exposure to air. In general – if time permits – Markus Lang’s wines should be left in the open bottle for at least as many hours as they spent months in the cellar. Large glasses also do the wine the most justice; then this Grüner Veltliner develops into a wine with an exceedingly fine aroma of blossoms, garden herbs, a touch of gravel, and salted plums. Indeed, even at this stage, one already gets the impression that the wine is rather cool, but thoroughly charming and by no means off-putting.

Palate

On the palate, it quickly becomes clear that this is a textural and structural wine par excellence. The Kalt und Klar more than lives up to its name. The acidity acts like a katana, a Japanese long sword freshly sharpened by a master, slicing one lemon after another in flight. The yellow and green citrus notes are cool and demanding, the acidity and minerality powerful and electrifying. It’s hard to believe that all of the Langs’ wines undergo malolactic fermentation. But the aging in amphorae also ensures that the acidity remains so pure, so clear, and so bright. This Grüner Veltliner, with its clear appearance, reveals itself in a way one would wish for from some Chablis. From the very first moment, the cold and clear sensation is as if the tongue were touching a battery of batteries. And this doesn’t stop until the finish. What emerges over time, however, is a delicate creaminess that lends the wine its own charm, so that at some point you could rest the Katana on a pillow.

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Producer website: http://hmlang.at/index.html