Due to their geographical location, altitude and soil, wine-growing places have different characteristics that shape the aroma profile and typicity of the wines.
Vineyard map
Nature and culture influence the wine.
Every winegrowing nation has coined its own word for the specific geographic site of a prized vineyard. In Germany, it is known as the “Lage”, in France it’s the “Cru” and in Austria, we refer to it as the “Ried”. Internationally, the term “terroir” has become a well-established description, originating from French and originally translated as “taste of the earth”.
Today, the term terroir has a more complex definition, albeit with contradictory interpretations. We do not cultivate the word, we see it pragmatically and understand it to be the sum of the natural and cultural parameters; that is to say, the geographical, geological, vegetative and climatic aspects, enhanced by the cultivation and nurturing by humans.
A great wine is synonymous with a prime vineyard site. Yet there is an irrepressible will to create something great: this is an instinct that cannot be taught, as it demands sheer intuition.
Ortsweine / Village Wines
„Loibner“
Grüner Veltliner
The name LOIBEN (for the area of the cadastral communities Oberloiben and Unterloiben) is the designation of origin of this Wachau DAC village wine. The vineyards are situated on the plains of the Loibner basin, with light and warm soils made of alluvial Danube sand and gravel.
Delicate Grüner Veltliner with an elegant structure; bright with soft fruit characters.
„Dürnsteiner“
Grüner Veltliner and Riesling
Wines bearing the name of DÜRNSTEIN refer to the designation of origin of some fabulous village wines.
Under this name we bottle wines from grapes hand-picked from a selection of terraced mountain vineyards. The grapes derive predominantly from younger plots, or from sites not harvested for a “Ried” single-vineyard growth wine, and from vineyards in the plains around the municipality of Dürnstein. This vineyard blend is enticing and invigorating, with sappy and subtle mineral characters.
The Grüner Veltliner displays a very typical, Grüner bouquet of spicy herbs and white pepper.
The Riesling impresses with its clear and bright structure and elegance, characterized by lively, racy apricot and peach fruit notes.
„Dürnsteiner“
Gelber Muskateller (Loibner Ried Loibenberg)
Our Gelber Muskateller is classified as a Dürnsteiner village wine with DAC status, because the Wachau DAC regulations only permits the Grüner Veltliner and Riesling varieties for a specific vineyard designation.
In the year 2000, we grubbed up our Gelber Muskateller (yellow muscat) vines in favour of Grüner Veltliner and the Riesling in the Loibner Loibenberg and Dürnsteiner Kellerberg vineyards. Thus, our winery fell silent about this white wine variety, which is one of the oldest in the Wachau. In 2013, we were fortunate enough to lease two small parcels of very old Gelber Muskateller vines on the Loibenberg, enabling us to reintroduce this ancient variety back into our portfolio after 13 years of continuous abstinence.
The wine is dense and intense on the palate, elegantly entwined with a floral bouquet, grapey with notes seductive of elderflower, forest honey, white peach and Hawaiian pineapple. Bold and delicately spicy, and typically classy and mineral-like. It is a prototype of this age-old variety, that has taken years, almost decades, in its blossoming.
The wine is dense and intense on the palate, elegantly entwined with a floral bouquet, grapey with notes seductive of elderflower, forest honey, white peach and Hawaiian pineapple. Bold and delicately spicy, and typically classy and mineral-like. It is a prototype of this age-old variety, that has taken years, almost decades, in its blossoming.
We are fascinated by the wines from the Kellerberg because of their precision, for which few words can adequately do justice. A wine from the Kellerberg is always a grand wine.
Single-Vineyard Wines
We are proud of our vineyard sites. Each vineyard forms the basis for the authenticity of our wines. Our “Rieden”, or prized vineyard sites, are our profession to the wine, the challenge, the goal and the ideal, all rolled into one. The majority of our vineyards are steeply inclined mountain terraced sites, dating from the 12th and 13th centuries, that we maintain and preserve with great respect. This is our exceptional cultural asset.
Loibner Ried Klostersatz
Grüner Veltliner and Riesling
The Ried Klostersatz is, as the name suggests, one of the oldest vineyards in the Wachau to be cultivated by the monks of Bavarian and Salzburg monasteries.
It is a vineyard with a remarkably deep soil composition situated in the Loibner basin, within the majestic curve of the Danube river between Dürnstein and Oberloiben. The topsoil is characterized by fine sand particles, which indicate a slow flow rate during the deposition. The underlying gravel, on the other hand, was deposited at a high flow rate. The high degree of rounding of the pebbles is evidence of a long transport route from the Alps.
This site provides an ideal terroir for Grüner Veltliner and Riesling.
Deep, spicy fruit, gentle mineral notes are typical for wines from this vineyard.
Loibner Ried Frauenweingarten
Grüner Veltliner
Its name dates to a nunnery, or convent, in Dürnstein and it refers to the level plains between the districts of Oberloiben and Unterloiben. This part of the Loibner Basin is a composition of light and warm alluvial Danube sandy soils, intertwined with gravel and brown earth.
Terroir for typical, fruity Grüner Veltliner. Wines with a lacy yet structured body and delicate fruit characters.
Loibner Ried Trum
Riesling
Ried Trum is a small, single-vineyard site that boasts a south-facing aspect and is situated below the Dürnstein to Unterloiben railway line. The hillside site is composed of weathered rock sand deposits off the Loibenberg, and the vineyard lies on the river Danube-side of the famous Ried Schütt, which in turn is adjacent to the Frauenweingarten vineyard. The predominant geology comprises of Gföhler gneiss mixed with bedrock sand and brown earth.
Loibner Ried Burgstall
Riesling
The Burgstall vineyard refers to a crag bedrock plateau towering some 30 metres, bordering on Unterloiben to the east. The name goes back to a small fortification that was built in the Middle Ages to defend livestock against pillages and the site was first mentioned in a document in 1248. It is also assumed that the first settlement “Liupna” was located here, from which the village name Loiben may derive.
This sun-drenched and well-circulated vineyard is situated at the westernmost end of this rock terrace and the soils consist of pure gneiss and granite, with a shallow topsoil of sand.
This distinctive terroir is ideal for vibrant, mineral-like Rieslings with fruit purity and precision.
Loibner Ried Steinertal
Grüner Veltliner and Riesling
This unique site is situated at the most eastern end of the Wachau, between the Loibenberg and the Pfaffenberg. The old vineyard name is “Steingraben”, as its form depicts a rift, which broadens into an amphitheatre as it reaches down towards the vineyard landscape in Unterloiben. The site is clearly characterized by its proximity to the nearby forest, from which nocturnal northerly breezes cool the vineyard as they pass through on their current towards the Danube. This makes Steinertal the cool, slow ripening single-vineyard site within the Loibner vineyards, which is unique in its ideal harvest picking time and mineral character.
The geological subsoil of the Ried Steinertal consists entirely of lime-free, acidic molten Gföhler gneiss (orthogneiss). The ancient loess topsoil from the Ice Age has long since disappeared, and the vineyard ground is now sandy, barren and with sparce humus layer. The Gföhler gneiss outcrop is notably marked by weathering and the frequent fissures and crevices are filled with fallen and finely grained primary rock sand, through which the vine roots delve deeply into the bedrock.
These wines display exceptional clarity, minerality and elegance. The Grüner Veltliner is rich and bold with vibrant acidity, with refreshing aromas of white pepper spice and litchi.
By comparison, the Rieslings are lean and sappy, with enticing salinity, over animated lime, pink grapefruit and white peach characters.
Loibner Ried Loibenberg
Grüner Veltliner and Riesling
The Loibenberg is one of the steepest and most barren terraced vineyards in Loiben. This site is also one of the largest continuous individual vineyard sites in the Wachau, almost entirely south-facing, sun-blessed and warm. During the day the sun warms up the dry-stone terraces, and this retained heat is gradually released during the evening hours back into the vineyards.
The high-grade bedrock soil is geologically dominated by Gföhler gneiss, a transformation rock that consists of acidic, granite-like protoliths. The sandy-stony soils naturally provide ample water drainage, thus encouraging root growth. The soil also warms up rapidly during springtime and ensures early budding.
Erosion on the inclines has resulted in a beneficial mixture of calcareous loess sediment from the Ice Age, that in turn promotes progressive soil development by natural decalcification, which explains a minimal amount of carbonate present in the topsoil.
The name Loibenberg can be traced back to the year 1381, when the name “leub_n perig” was recorded.
Loibenberg is known for its rich, bold and elegant wines. The Grüner Veltliner reveals itself with a full body, juicy and lingering aftertaste, over nuances of mineral-like, smoky, and tobacco-like characters. The Riesling is a dense and full-bodied, with noteworthy mineral and stone-like notes, a fruity texture of tropical fruits over peach and apricot flavours.
Wines from the Loibenberg are usually approachable and animated in their youth and continue to evolve exceptionally with cellar aging. The results are rewarding after many years or even decades of bottle aging.
Dürnsteiner Ried Liebenberg
Grüner Veltliner
The steep terrace of Liebenberg, west of Dürnstein, is one of the most interesting individual vineyard sites in the Wachau. With its south to southwest aspect, the Liebenberg is captivating with its characteristic dry-stone walls. This vineyard name was mentioned as early as 1312 as a foundation by “Leuthold von Kuenring”. The name refers to the noble family as the former proprietors of the “Liebenberger” vineyard.
In its upper terraces, paragneiss forms the base of the bedrock, with intermittent parcels of dark amphibolite on the ground and between the terrace walls. The bedrock on the foothills are covered with a loamy, silty, very calcareous sliding mass with embedded stones made of paragneiss and amphibolite.
Vines thrive here, and the finished wines are authentic and full of character and an exuberance of mineral elegance and intense complexity. These prime wines reveal their unmistakable origin after years of cellaring. These Grüner Veltliners display spicy and salty notes on the palate with dark mineral notes on the nose.
Dürnsteiner Ried Kellerberg
Grüner Veltliner and Riesling
The Kellerberg is an internationally critically acclaimed vineyard site par excellence. This vineyard has steep inclines and barren bedrock terraces. It faces due south to south-east and forms an outlet of a tributary valley with an exceptional microclimate. The Dürnsteiner Kellerberg is blessed with early morning sunshine, with much of the site profiting from much-needed shade from the early afternoon rays during the summer months. The latter has a huge benefit on drawing out the ripening of the grapes. At night, cool air currents from the surrounding woodlands help to retain aromatic freshness and provide complex texture and finely nuanced minerality, with tropical and seductive aromas. In autumn, diurnal temperature differences between warm days and cool nights are a significant factor during maturation process and ensure that the grapes retain their aromas.
The Kellerberg takes its name from the Baroque “Kellerschlössl”, the landmark of Dürnstein (constructed according to plans made by Jakob Prandtauer between 1714 and 1719). Hence the vineyard’s namesake is comparatively young (1787) and was allegedly introduced as a collective name for an extended number of smaller vineyards.
The Kellerberg is made up of Gföhler gneiss, a metamorphic bedrock formed from a granite-like parent rock (plutonite). Due to its southeast orientation, this prized vineyard site was historically protected from prevailing winds during the Ice Ages, resulting in deeper pockets of fine loess sediment. Erosion on the slope has naturally allowed the Ice Age sediment to integrate with Gföhler gneiss deposits, thus giving the Kellerberg its rich and bold wine styles.
The Grüner Veltliner displays dark salty mineral notes, profound spiciness, over notes of honeydew melon and tropical fruit notes. The Riesling by comparison exudes exotic aromas, with mango, passion fruit, pineapple over ripe yellow peach. The striking mineral characters derive from battered and barren weathered soils.
After years of maturation in the bottle, it becomes increasingly difficult to identify the Grüner Veltliner and Riesling grape varieties, as the sensory boundaries merge together as the terroir of this extraordinary vineyard site is in the forefront.
Reserve „M“
Grüner Veltliner and Riesling
“M” means Monumental and is our given name for Grüner Veltliner and Riesling wines with outstanding complexity and concentration. An "M" must stand out clearly from the rest of the “Ried” single-vineyard wines in terms of its structural and taste profile.
With our single-vineyard wines, we aim to capture the character of the soil and the origin into the glass. Our focus with the “M” is richness, boldness, density and concentration, with terroir coming in second.
Our first Grüner Veltliner “M” was created in 1991 as a memorial to Grüner Veltliner: hence a monument. As a rule, the grapes for our “M” are harvested one to two weeks later than our other top vineyard wines. Depending on the vintage and the course of the vegetation, the “M” consists largely of the oldest terraces on the Loibenberg and a meticulous selection of several, very high-quality vineyards at the foothills. The fruit for the Riesling is sourced from the Dürnsteiner Kellerberg, and the grapes for our Grüner Veltliner come from the Dürnsteiner Liebenberg, as well as the Kollmütz vineyard in nearby Wösendorf. When it comes to Grüner Veltliner, our “M” is always produced as a dry wine. The Riesling “M” is often bottled in an off-dry style, which gives it additional density and length. The balance between natural residual sweetness and acidity is particularly important to us.
The “M” is always a mystical wine, with opulence and concentrated minerality.
It encompasses both wine monuments and moments for decades to come.
Loibner Ried Rothenhof
Sauvignon Blanc „Grosse Reserve“
This Sauvignon blanc is our house speciality wine. It’s a truly extraordinary wine, and very different from what you would expect from a Sauvignon Blanc from the Wachau.
Franz Xaver (FX) Pichler was one of the first vintners to start planting Sauvignon blanc in the Wachau in the early 1980s. By the mid-1990s, there were four plots spread across several single vineyards, before he came to realise that Sauvignon Blanc was a challenging variety the Wachau valley.
In the late autumn of 1997, his son Lucas Pichler completed a short, yet intensive internship with Manfred Tement in Styria. His experience with Sauvignon blanc in this wine region was to ultimately save, and at the same time, introduce necessary changes to the style of the F.X. Sauvignon.
Nowadays, only one vineyard is planted with Sauvignon blanc. This is located in the Loibner Rothenhof site on the easternmost foothills of the Steinertal and to west of the Pfaffenberg vineyard in the adjacent Kremstal winegrowing region. This specific vineyard contains more rock sand sediments and loess deposits gathered over the millennia, coupled with an increased lime content in the soil. Its close proximity to woodlands provides the vineyard with a unique microclimate.
The first, experimental bottlings of Sauvignon blanc adhered to the more traditional “Smaragd” style of late harvested dry Wachau wines. From the 2003 vintage, Lucas attempted to introduce his own style of Sauvignon blanc, strongly influenced from more international Sauvignons from Pouilly sur Loire, Sancerre and white Bordeaux. Since 2010, this Sauvignon Blanc is either aged in oak casks as a “Grosse Reserve”, when the vintage permits, or is bottled as a refreshing and lively Dürnstein village wine.
The Sauvignon blanc “Grosse Reserve” is destemmed and pressed after a maceration period of about a day. Fermentation occurs in selected new and seasoned 225 litre barriques and 500 litre barrels with extended full lees maturation for 12 to 16 months. We avoid the addition of sulphur and continuously practise bâtonnage. The wine is bottled post assemblage with minimal sulphur and is released two years after the harvest.
Intense gooseberry fruit, fragrant honey notes, fine grapefruit nuances, delicate of peppers and cassis. Juicy texture, opulent, creamy body with coconut and blood orange, supported by fine acidity. Mineral notes with light flint, well-integrated oak tones; an elegant, balanced style with a lingering aftertaste.