ZIEREGG XT

With the 2020 vintage, we presented the four Zieregg components: Steilriegel, Kår, Kapelle, and the historic core part of Zieregg. With the 2015 vintage, at the latest we recognized that this historic and original part has an  extraordinary independence with outstanding ageing potential.  Therefore, a part of the 2015 harvest from the historic Zieregg vineyard remained in the barrel and will now be bottled in May after more than 8 years of barrel ageing as Ried Zieregg with the addition of ‘XT’. ‘XT’ signifies ‘Extra Time – Extra Terroir – Extra Tement’. In short: a wine matured to perfection for us.

-aged 105 months in barrel,  bottled in  05/24 –

Ried Zieregg belongs probably to one of the most famous vineyards in Austria. But for our family it is much more than an iconic flagship. It is the origin of the family history and a place of big emotion. Vineyard and family are deeply rooted in each other.

When Manfred had to take over the winery in 1976 after the sudden and tragic death of his father at the age of only 16, single vineyard Zieregg was still very small. Together with mother Edina a local “Buschenschank” (local inn) was run in order to be able to afford viticulture. In the 90s Manfred could reinvest all savings entirely in parcels on the Zieregg, which allowed the winery to grow. At the beginning of the 2000s, the vineyard Zieregg could be expanded to the high plateau at the foot of the Karmeliter Chapel (“Kapelle”). When Zieregg expanded so did the diversity in terms of soil type, exposure and microclimate.

Since 2005, Armin has been working hand in hand with father Manfred and Stefan has completed the “trio ” since 2010 and allows our family to evolve and to make fundamental decisions regarding organic farming and the puristic signature of our wines. One consequence of these new ideas was to separately vinify the individual plots in order to achieve an even more precise understanding of the multifaceted richness of our vineyards. Most famous example are the Zieregg plots or “parcels” as we call them. Today, a total of 18 plots are selectively cultivated and developed at our grand cru vineyard Zieregg.

In 2022, a statutory vineyard ordinance came into effect, which brought many changes for the wine region Steimark. For us, it was the right time to even sharpen our own vineyard profile. However, the new ordinance prohibits us from continuing to fill the previously used and vinified plots at Zieregg as individual plots, since “a Ried is the smallest permissible geographical indication.”

And now, after more than four decades of intense and detailed debate, it was decided in the family that, with the 2020 vintages , four individual vineyards on Zieregg would be created. For the first time Ried Zieregg will be bottled in addition with “XT”. 

1. Ried ZIEREGG -XT-Sauvignon Blanc
2. Ried ZIEREGG KÅR [spoken “koa”] Sauvignon Blanc
3. Ried ZIEREGG KAPELLE Sauvignon Blanc
4. Ried ZIEREGG STEILRIEGEL Morillon