Salomon Undhof Steiner Kogl OTW Erste Lage Reserve Riesling 2011
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The region was founded in the eighth century when monks who followed Charlemagne's army down the Danube saw the grape growing potential of its south-facing terraces.
In 1780 the Salomon family acquired the Undhof (a farm building once part of a Capuchin monastery) and started producing wines there in 1792. The Salomon's ancestors were boatmen involved in the salt trade with their wine business only a sideline. Today Salomon is one of the most progressive and quality driven wineries in Austria, making Riesling and Grüner Veltliner of stunning purity and elegance.
Salomon Undhof is deservedly regarded as a pioneer of Austrian winemaking being the first to export its wines in 1935. The company now exports over half its production. Salomon Undhof is managed by the charismatic Bertold Salomon, who until 1991 was the president of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board.
For the last 222 years, Salomon Undhof has produced white wines from the best terraced sites along the Danube. Crystal clear wines with fine minerality. The style of Salomon Undhof wines is an alliance between character, balance and harmony. Wines meant to be drunk young are fresh and subtle; wines for keeping acquire with age a luscious complexity. The wines of Salomon Undhof are found on the finest tables all over the world. The winery is situated in the the eastern part of the "cultural world heritage site" Wachau with the appellation Kremstal DAC. Salomon Undhof is founding member of the association Traditionsweinguter Osterreich.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
The region of considerable geologic diversity and microclimates, Kremstal extends virtually without border east from Wachau along the Danube River. Its magnificent terraced and rocky vineyards in the west alongside Wachau include some of Austria’s most esteemed Riesling vineyards, the (Steiner) Hund and Pfaffenberg, as well as Kögl and Wachtberg nearer to the city of Krems. After Krems, the vineyards become excessively steep upstream around Senftenberg where Riesling and Grüner Veltliner thrive. Grüner Veltliner does best from here east where the soils become a mix of sand, gravel and loess.
Grüner Veltliner and Riesling together comprise two thirds of all of the Kremstal vineyards; the region itself represents about five percent of Austria’s total vineyard area.