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Tag: Südsteiermark

Wine of the Week

Noble Zweigelt

Published 21. July 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Maria and Sepp Muster of Südsteiermark I met a few years ago at a wine fair in London. I was hugely impressed by their range, and the orange wines I regard as some of the best there is. Last Saturday I visited a new wine bar in the unlikely place of my hometown (sorry, Sandnes!). And this masterpiece of a zweigelt was served blind by Pål, managing director of Tempo vinbar. The bar takes its name from the historic bicycles that were once made right in the same quarter. 

Maria and Sepp Muster make vital and beautiful wines in Gamlitz of Südsteiermark, Austria. The soil is composed of stony clay and silt over calcareous marl subsoil. 
The grapes for this wine were harvested by hand, de-stemmed and gently pressed. They spontaneously ferment in 2,400-litre wooden barrels. The wine is then stored for approx. 2 years in old wooden barrels. Unfiltered. Nothing added.

Graf Zweigelt 2019 (WeinI. Maria & Sepp Muster)

Cherry red. Aroma of cool red and black fruits (raspberry, blackberry), cranberry, fresh herbs and some earth. Medium-bodied, fine-grained tannins, a lovely integrated acidity, and a long finish. 

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

One of two good Zweigelts

Published 24. April 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

In our private wine club last Monday the theme was Austrian red wine with focus on the three grapes Blaufränkisch, St. Laurent and their crossing Zweigelt. While there were seveal good wines from, at least for me, more well-known producers and especially from Blaufränkisch, the biggest revelation was the two Zweigelts from Weingut Maria & Sepp Muster.

Bilderesultat for muster zweigelt

While most wines were from the Burgenland area the Muster family is found in Südsteiermark. There they have inherited a 10 hectar vineyard that they work according to biodynamic methods. The landscape is very steep and the soil has rocks, clay and silt. Sheltered from a nearby mountain range the nights are cool and mild. The vines grow on single wire trellises, an ancient practise in the region.

They imply spontaneous fermentation with natural yeasts, preferably done in barrels and casks. They also like to keep them for a long time, around two years before bottling, to secure maturity and balance.

Graf Zweigelt 2007 (Maria & Sepp Muster)

Bright red. Cool aromas with hints of cherries and plums. Quite concentrated, but grapey and juicy at the same time, and with a delicate and playful acidity. Really enjoyable and calls for more.

Price: Medium

 

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