Prellenkirchen 2018

Site & soil

The Grüner Veltliner grapes for the Ortswein Prellenkirchen are selected from a total of three parcels, all of which are located on the southern slope of the Spitzerberg, in the vineyards Ried Blauenstein, Ried Panhölzer & Ried Kranzen. The age of these vineyards is 30–40 years. In the middle of  a 70+ year-old Blaufränkisch vineyard in Ried Kranzen, we found about one hundred Riesling vines. In some years, when conditions are optimal, these grapes are also used for  Prellenkirchen.

Harvest & vinification

The Veltliner grapes are harvested as soon as they taste right, and when the skin becomes gold & translucent. The clusters are harvested by hand and any overripe berry is carefully removed. The grapes are destemmed, lightly pressed, and then macerated on the skins for some time – depending on the vintage, between eight hours and three days. This gives the wine structure and body. In some years, a part of the grapes will be trodden by foot, though not in 2018. Fermentation begins after a few days thanks to the wild yeasts. This spontaneous fermentation develops very slowly and at room temperature, because the grape material is neither heated nor cooled. This guarantees that the wines have a complex, fully ripe flavour. After pressing, the wine is decanted into a large old wooden cask (2700 litres), where it matures about ten months before bottling.

Vintage 2018

2018 brought with it a very hot and dry summer, so that stress upon the vines had to be relieved during the summer month – many clusters were removed in order to ensure a good nutrient and water supply for the rest.

The eagerly anticipated precipitation first came only in early September, just before the early primary harvest. However, the grapes for the Prellenkirchen 2018 were harvested before the big rains came, so the wine is very precise in aroma, concentrated & complex.