Roland Tauss is one of the quiet masters of his craft. A little over 25 years ago, he began cultivating vines at Hohenegg in Leutschach. For the first decade he worked conventionally, using everything the agricultural co-op had to offer — until, in the mid-2000s, he no longer enjoyed the taste of his own wines, began questioning the health risks of various pesticides, and increasingly noticed the consequences they had on his soils. That’s when he pulled the emergency brake.
Since then, his vineyards have transformed into vibrant biotopes; and he himself has become one of the most articulate advocates of sustainable and mindful farming. His Sauvignon Blanc benefits from this as well. Trained in the traditional single-wire trellis system, it accumulates the full character of the vineyard in its grapes.
Because Roland’s vines are now as healthy and lively as his soils, he can take a step back in the cellar and simply let his wines become what they want to be.
The Sauvignon Blanc ferments spontaneously in large wooden casks, where it spends over a year aging on the lees. It was bottled unfiltered and — in 2017 — without any added sulfur.
Style
Sauvignon Blanc the way we like it: clear, cool, mineral, and stony. With a fine-grained, dense, and vibrant texture. As if a batch of first-rate Sancerre had wandered into Styria and been imprinted with R.T.’s signature. Thanks to the zero-sulfur approach, it is open and multi-layered from the very beginning.
Data sheet
Grape variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Vineyard: Opok
reading: By hand
Fermentation: spontaneous | wild yeast
expansion: Over a year in used wooden barrels
Filtration: no
SO₂: unadulterated
Alcohol content: 13%
Closure: Natural corks
Drinking temperature: 10-12 ° C
Perfect drinking maturity: From now on - 2032
Content and price per liter: 0.75 l/(€ 29.87/l)
Maxim: All winemakers listed at Vinonudo work in their vineyards with compost, organic fertilizer and natural preparations and do without the use of herbicides, pesticides and artificial fertilizers.
