"We can make even more from Pinot Blanc than from Chardonnay," says Jörg Bretz. In order to achieve more, Jörg Bretz follows a few principles that no other winegrower we know of in Austria pursues with the same rigour.
In short, they can be summarised as follows: a lot of manual work, meticulous observation of his vines and terroir, late harvesting of healthy grapes (without botrytis) and calm and very slow ageing in wooden barrels. In the case of the 2009 Pinot Blanc, this means 108 months, i.e. 9 years, during which the wine remains in contact with its lees and finds its final form, carefully but not forgotten. In other years it may take a little longer, but it will never be significantly shorter. This is simply due to the fact that Jörg only starts bottling his wines (not just the Pinot Blanc) when, in his opinion, they are at their first peak - which does not mean that there is any particular need to hurry afterwards. Jörg's wines are long-distance runners that only start in the middle of a course in order to trot slowly towards a distant future.
The initially soft and creamy mouthfeel is picked up by a present acid core and steered into elegant channels that carry nutty and ripe-fruity flavours directly to the palate. Finishes long, persistent and multi-layered.
Data sheet
Grape variety: Pinot Blanc
Harvest: By hand
Fermentation: spontaneous | wild yeasts, no temperature control
Ageing: 9 years in large wooden barrels
Filtration: no
SO₂: < 50mg/l
Alcohol content: 13%
Closure: Natural cork
Drinking temperature: 10-12 °C
Perfect drinking maturity: from now - 2028
Content and price per litre: 0.75 l/(€33.5/l)
Maxime: All winegrowers listed on Vinonudo work with compost, organic fertilisers and natural preparations in their vineyards and do not use herbicides, pesticides or artificial fertilisers.
