Hager Matthias - SAUVIGNON BLANC Niederosterreich 2023 (12% ABV) 750ml
"Hager Matthias is located in the northern part of the Kamptal in the small town of Mollands. Matthias studied at the school of Oenology & Viticulture in Krems, Austria and worked for several years in the Wachau and Burgenland at large commercial wineries. Matthias then began to create his own style of wine at the age of 21. For the last 15 years he has been producing terroir-driven wines from native varietals on his 14 hectares of vineyard.
The Hager Matthias winery is located in the small village of Mollands in the Kamptal area of Lower Austria. Matthias took over the 12-hectare land and the family business at an early age. He aims to produce the best quality wine possible and to focus on being in balance with nature. The lands are cultivated according to biodynamic principles and are certified Demeter. Matthias has a vast knowledge about plants and insects, and about keeping the flora and fauna in harmony with the vines. Matthias Hager is one of the most experimental winemakers in the Kamptal region, Austria. He understood early how to work with different soil types from loess to clay. He established different product lines to highlight these differences: the blue one representing fresh, lively wines including Grüner Veltliner and Sauvignon Blanc;
The perfect Sauv Blanc for Sancerre lovers on a weeknight budget.
90 pts Wine Ethusiast
Crunchy and floral, with subtle stone fruit, layered with prominent white tea, jasmine and cardamom. Gentle on the palate, this is elegant, with a cleansing wave of mouthwatering acidity on the finish.
Bone dry, lime zest, gooseberry, green apple skin, white pepper, crushed river rocks, bright spine of acidity & minerality. Subtly complex and delicious. A staff favorite.
Hiesberg Vineyard, at over 414 meters asl, this certified biodynamic vineyard in Mollands is one of the highest locations in Kamptal with a southerly view. Rough gusty wind blows through the vines up here, which experience high-contrast heat storage and nutrients in stony clay soils with large deposits of mica schist, quartz and feldspar. The roots grow laboriously in the depths through old rock of a crystalline primeval mountain formed from volcanic lava and primeval ocean crust.
Twenty year-old vines planted on clay soil
Despite its northerly limits, the region in the northeast of Austria is known as “Lower Austria," a growing area most associated with the well-renowned and powerful Grüners and Rieslings the country produces. Some sub-regions you may have heard of because of these wines include the Kamptal, Kremstal, Wachau, and Wagram, to name a few. In the first of these regions, Kamptal – so-named because of the river Kamp – Hager Matthias has worked 12 hectares of biodynamic vines in his small hometown of Mollands since the age of 21. He’s got serious experience to boot; he knows this place as intimately as anyone. His wines carry buttoned-up mischief. Takes on site-specific Grüner, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Zweigelt fizzers demonstrate the feeling of enough rootedness to become playful –experimentation among the background in an otherwise resplendent & mercifully simple picture. Beauty and fun.
Vinification: 100% Sauvignon Blanc from a single parcel in Kamptal. Grapes are hand-harvested, pressed and fermented with wild yeasts in stainless steel. The wine rests on the lees for a short period and is then racked into another stainless steel tank, where it rests for 9 months. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, with little to no SO2.
Tasting: This is a pristine, fruit driven summer white, with notes of chamomile, golden delicious apples and lime zest. Creamy in texture, but with a sharp undercurrent of acidity to hold it all together. Absolutely stunning.
region: Kamptal, Austria
varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
style: white wine
farming & cellar:sourced from the clay soil of the Hiesberg Vineyard (Niederosterreich) . 20 year old vines. Unoaked (stainless steel), with minimal sulfur. Spontaneous fermentation. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.Nine months on the lees in steel tanks. Demeter certified biodynamic. & organic since 2005
pair with literally anything