HM Lang
Heidelinde & Markus Lang - Kalt und Clar 2020
Heidelinde & Markus Lang - Kalt und Clar 2020
Couldn't load pickup availability
Heidelinde & Markus Lang
Kalt und Clear
2020
Grüner Veltliner
75cl
10.5% alc.
Riede Steiner Schreck
Krems, Austria
Certified organic and biodynamic, unfiltered
This Grüner Veltliner comes from the Steiner Schreck vineyard. The site is very steep, the vines are located on small terraces four to five meters deep, characterized by Gföller gneiss and granite. The vines (the roots, not the vines) are approximately 100 years old and are managed according to Demeter certification . They feature an 8-foot-tall wall of foliage.
The grapes are pressed very slowly for two days on a self-designed 100 ton tree press. The pressing process itself is completely reductive, but afterwards the juice has time to darken, so it is deliberately exposed to oxidation. The juice was spontaneously fermented and matured on whole yeasts in 670 wooden barrels for two years and bottled unfiltered in March 2022 after 30 months. During fermentation, Lang added 3 to 5% destemmed grapes, which ferments intercellularly (as in carbonic maceration ) and then repeatedly restarts the fermentation process despite the constant 9°C in the cellar. Subsequently the wine was minimally sulphured.
Color
Light to medium straw yellow
Nose
This wine isn't called Kalt und Klar for nothing. It is Markus Lang's most puristic wine. It is also the only wine that initially shows a touch of reduction, but which quickly disappears with aeration. In general - if time permits - Markus Lang wines should be given at least as many hours in the open bottle as months spent in the cellar. Even large glasses do the wine justice; then this Grüner Veltliner becomes a wine that smells extraordinarily of flowers, aromatic herbs, a little gravel and salted plums. Indeed, already here one gets the impression that the wine appears rather fresh but is quite charming and not at all repellent.
Palate
On the palate it immediately becomes clear that this is a wine consistency and structure par excellence. The cold and clear more than lives up to its name. The acid acts like a katana, a long Japanese sword freshly sharpened by the master, which cuts one lemon after another in flight. The yellow and green citrus notes are fresh and demanding, while the acidity and minerality are powerful and electrifying. It's hard to believe that all Langs wines go through malolactic fermentation. But the expansion in the amphora also ensures that the acid remains so pure, so clear and so light. With its clear appearance, this Grüner Veltliner shows itself in a way that one would like for some Chablis. From the first moment, the cold and clear behave as if the tongue were touching a battery block. And this doesn't stop until the finale. But what comes with it over time is a fine creaminess that gives the wine its charm, so much so that at a certain point you can put the katana on a pillow.
Suggested pairings:
- Steamed clams in sake and dashi
(seafood)
- Oysters, small and firm. Lemons are no longer necessary with this wine
(seafood)
- Lemon chicken with limequat and ginger
(poultry)
Copyright: Christoph Raffelt
Share
