2021-C Nigl 'Freiheit' Gruner Veltliner, Niederosterreich, Austria (750ml)
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A Monthly Wine Club Selection
This bottling is 100% Grüner Veltliner sourced from four different vineyards in the hills above the city of Krems, where the temperature is moderated by the steep elevation, drawing out the ripening season and contributing spiciness and depth to the wines. Freiheit means “freedom” in honor of the legacy of the first privately held vineyards in the valley not owned by the Church or a feudal estate. It's a bottling that always overdelivers for the price point and shows honest depth of fruit. The fermentation and élevage were carried out exclusively in stainless steel; the wine was bottled at night when the cellars are the coolest, as Martin feels this helps preserve the freshness of the wine.
Pale golden yellow. Aromas of fresh citrus. It shows tart flavors of peach, apricot and lime, with the precise acidity typically associated with Grüner Veltliner. Light yet layered, it dazzles the palate with its lively fruitiness, elegantly punctuated with a well-balanced spicy note on the long, mouthwatering finish.
The Nigl family has been farming their vineyards in the shadow of the Senftenberg Mountains in the Krems Valley of Austria for over 200 years. In 1985, Martin Nigl convinced his parents they should be making their own wine instead of selling their grapes to the local co-ops. Today, Nigl is now revered as one of the finest producers in all of Austria. The estate consists of 25 hectares of vines planted to 40% Grüner Veltliner—including some very old vines (75 years in age), planted on loess soils that contribute more opulent fruit and a creamier texture, 40% Riesling, 10% Chardonnay, 4% Sauvignon Blanc and 2% others.
Martin practices organic farming, never using herbicides or insecticides, plants cover crops of legumes and herbs, and avoids copper, a mainstay in the biodynamic arsenal, but which he considers detrimental to his vines’ vitality, and harmful to the soil. In the cellar, Nigl works almost exclusively in stainless steel, never destems, uses only ambient yeasts, settles musts by gravity only, racks twice, and never fines before bottling.