Wines

Neumeister’s legendary “Alte Reben” (“old vines”) is produced from the two oldest Sauvignon Blanc plantings in Styria: a 1937 east-facing parcel on Buchberg’s “Stradener Himmelsburg” situated at 360 meters altitude in poor, limestone-dominated soils; and an east-facing planting from 1967 in premier cru Klausen’s calcareous sandstone. Christoph ages the “Alte Reben” a staggering three years in used 500-liter barrels, allowing it to develop stunning textural breadth and aromatic nuance. We are fortunate to be able to obtain a handful of cases every so often, and this is one to be snagged swiftly if it is encountered in the wild.

The renowned grand cru Moarfeitl occupies a south-southwest-facing plateau situated above the Augenweide vineyard at 340 meters altitude. Neumeister planted two hectares of vines here in 1990, and Moarfeitl’s soils of sand, loam, and gravel are intermixed with volcanic elements, lending the Sauvignon Blanc from this site a distinctively assertive and profound mineral character. In accordance with the stringent requirements for GSTK (“Grosse STK Ried”) status, this spends 18 months in used oak casks between five and 25 hectoliters in capacity; like all of Neumeister’s wines, it undergoes a pre-fermentation maceration on its skins for several days before fermentation commences spontaneously.

Gemischter Satz originated as a co-fermented field blend produced from vineyards within and immediately around Vienna, but the much-beloved style has spread throughout Austria over the years. Neumeister’s delightfully aromatic version is built around 40-year-old Gelber Muskateller, with fellow early-ripening varieties Welschriesling, Müller-Thurgau, and Scheurebe rounding out the blend. Fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel, it is dry, gently floral, and driven by brisk acidity, clocking in at just 12% alcohol.

Christopher’s Pinot Gris, AKA Grauburgunder, shows the chiseled minerality, saline intensity, and murmuring breadth of all his wines. This eschews the variety’s tendency toward opulence in favor of something more laser-like, though it does not lack for oomph. Straden is the name of Neumeister’s home village within Vulkanland Steiermark, so consider this as a village-level wine.

Neumeister’s Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) forcefully demonstrates the minerality these steep Styrian hillsides can foster, with taut yellow fruit taking a backseat to a glinting, chiseled sense of stoniness; its penetrating depth of flavor belies its modest 12% alcohol. Fermentation proceeds spontaneously in stainless steel, and the wine spends the better part of a year on its fine lees in steel as well—a regimen that spotlights the wine’s crystalline character and keeps its fruit lively and fresh.

Neumeister’s Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) forcefully demonstrates the minerality these steep Styrian hillsides can foster, with taut yellow fruit taking a backseat to a glinting, chiseled sense of stoniness; its penetrating depth of flavor belies its modest 12% alcohol. Fermentation proceeds spontaneously in stainless steel, and the wine spends the better part of a year on its fine lees in steel as well—a regimen that spotlights the wine’s crystalline character and keeps its fruit lively and fresh.

Named after the Neumeister’s hometown of Straden, this Ortswein (village wine) exemplifies Christoph’s texturally expansive yet intricately chiseled style of Sauvignon Blanc. Fermented naturally after a two-day maceration on the skins, it spends the better part of a year on its fine lees in used oak casks between 500 and 2500 liters in capacity. Expressive in its youth but capable of significant positive development in bottle (like all of Christoph’s white wines), this has an emerald-green cast (not to be confused with under-ripeness) to its aromas and flavors, with a texture simultaneously airy and concentrated.

The premier cru Klausen sits on an east-southeast-facing mountain ridge at 340 meters altitude, with heavily calcareous sandstone soils and a drastic 65% gradient. Christoph owns seven hectares here, and he wrests a Sauvignon Blanc of fine, clinging minerality and ultra-precise, green-tinted fruit from its poor soils. After a two-day maceration, this wine ferments spontaneously in 25-hectoliter oak barrels and spends 12 months on its fine lees before bottling. Bursting with energy and bristling with tension, it will continue to develop layers of nuance for at least a decade.