Weingut Wohlmuth Ried Hochsteinriegl Sauvignon Blanc 2019
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Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Concentrated aromas of mandarin, pineapple, lime apricot and dark wet slate—pure minerality.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Cool and fresh, the 2019 Ried Hochsteinriegl Sauvignon Blanc opens with clear fruit and leafy, stony-spicy notes on the nose. Tautly mineral, salty and fresh in the mouth, this is a tightly meshed, excitingly salty Sauvignon with plenty of grip and a pleasantly phenolic structure, marked more by the terroir than the grape variety. 13% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in Grafenegg in September 2021. Best After 2025
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James Suckling
Very pristine and elegant with delicate red-gooseberry, pink-grapefruit and hibiscus aromas, this is so sleek and bright, but also has excellent depth and tantalizing minerality at the long, super-clean finish.
Other Vintages
2018-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
Appreciated for superior wines made from indigenous varieties, Austria should be on the radar of any curious wine drinker. A rather cool and dry wine growing region, this country produces wine that is quintessentially European in style: food-friendly with racy acidity, moderate alcohol and fresh fruit flavors.
Austria’s viticultural history is rich and vast, dating back to Celtic tribes with first written record of winemaking starting with the Romans. But the 20th century brought Austria a series of winemaking obstacles, namely the plunder of both world wars, as well as its own self-imposed quality breach. In the mid 1980s, after a handful of shameless vintners were found to have added diethylene glycol (a toxic substance) to their sweet wines to imitate the unctuous qualities imparted by botrytis, Austria’s credibility as a wine-producing country was compromised. While no one was harmed, the incident forced the country to rebound and recover stronger than ever. By the 1990s, Austria was back on the playing field with exports and today is prized globally for its quality standards and dedication to purity and excellence.
Grüner Veltliner, known for its racy acidity and herbal, peppery aromatics, is Austria's most important white variety, comprising nearly a third of Austrian plantings. Riesling in Austria is high in quality but not quantity, planted on less than 5% of the country’s vineyard land. Austrian Rieslings are almost always dry and are full of bright citrus flavors and good acidity. Red varietal wines include the tart and peppery Zweigelt, spicy and dense Blaufränkisch and juicy Saint Laurent. These red varieties are also sometimes blended.