Gelber Muskateller Kitzeck-Sausal – Wohlmuth – VEGAN
The 2022 Wohlmuth Gelber Muskateller Kitzeck-Sausal is a fragrant, dry white wine from Styria in Austria. This Gelber Muskateller from the Wohlmuth winery is a wonderfully floral, tremendously juicy village wine with a fresh arc of acidity. On the nose and palate, it impresses with grapey nuances and a broad spectrum of aromas: from floral notes of elderflower and white tropical fruit, such as exotic lychee and nutmeg, to a hint of pepper, all accompanied by the fine minerality of slate—a wonderfully cool, refined, and precise character. This showcases the brilliant interplay of grape variety, soil, vineyard site, and winemaking expertise, which has a 200-year-old tradition at the Wohlmuth estate.
Wohlmuth – Winemaking
The Muskateller vines grow on incredibly steep vineyard slopes planted on Paleozoic slate soils. Under the influence of the Illyrian climate—which brings warm winds from the Mediterranean and cool winds from the northern Alps to Kitzeck in Southern Styria—and through extensive manual labor on the steep slopes, which requires an admirable connection to the land, this dry white wine is produced with a distinctive, complex fruit profile.
All grapes are selectively hand-harvested very late. Since the vineyards are located around the winery, long transport routes are not necessary. After a maceration period of 4–8 hours, slow temperature-controlled fermentation takes place at approximately 20 degrees Celsius. To preserve the fragrance and freshness, the wine is aged on the fine lees in stainless steel tanks until bottling at the end of February.
The Muskateller grape variety has a long tradition, as it is considered one of the oldest cultivated grape varieties with a multitude of variants. Gelber Muskateller is a rather late-ripening variety and finds optimal conditions for its long vegetation period at the Wohlmuth winery in Styria. It owes its name to its typically intense nutmeg scent.
The Gelber Muskateller Kitzeck-Sausal is a classic village wine made exclusively from grapes grown around Kitzeck in Southern Styria. The Kitzeck-Sausal village appellation is a geological specialty within Southern Styria, as the soils are significantly older than in the rest of the region, having formed over 400 million years ago along with the Central Alps. The landscape is therefore rugged, which, in addition to impressively steep vineyards, is also reflected in numerous terraced structures around the village of Kitzeck. The difference from the highest point of the hills to the valley floor is usually over 200 meters, which is also evident in the extreme steepness of the vineyard sites. The vineyards are mostly located at altitudes of 380 to 650 meters, which contributes to good aeration of the vines.
The appealing modern label is designed each year by a different young artist. The 2022 vintage is accompanied by a painting by Laura Stadtegger, who sees the characteristics of her images in the movement between the real and the imaginary world. Inspired by myths and archetypes, she views her art as messages that concern people worldwide. Born in Graz in 1984, the artist completed her studies in applied arts at the University of Vienna, with a year abroad at the School of Visual Arts in New York. She subsequently lived in Amsterdam for a time before moving her studio to Munich in 2011. Her works can be admired in exhibitions, such as in London in 2023.
Gelber Muskateller Kitzeck-Sausal – a wine and its values
- Origin: Wine from Austria
- Region: Southern Styria
- Grape Variety: Gelber Muskateller
- Village Wine: Kitzeck-Sausal
- vegan
- 12.0% vol. alcohol
- 6.8 g/l acidity
- 3.0 g/l residual sugar