Ex Vero III 2020

A wine that embodies the notion of 'vertical wine.' The aromas are linear; lemon pith at the forefront with stoniness lingering on the palate for an eternity. The texture is angular; although this is a direct-press white wine with no skin contact, there are subtle tannins here regardless. This is as serious as fine wine gets, and this cuvée in particular has earned Werlitsch an international reputation as creator of some of the finest wines of Austria.

The vineyards here have been renowned for qualitative wines for centuries; so much so that they were documented in a wine map of the early 1800s. The Ex Vero III cuvée comes from the top section of the slopes, which are planted on 'opok' soils (the local name for clay with a high degree of limestone), where the soils are particularly rocky and the vines struggle. It is predominantly Sauvignon Blanc, with some 'Morillon' (the local name for Chardonnay).

The grapes are destemmed and direct-pressed. Time here is the secret ingredient: the wine is aged for 22 months on the lees (sometimes more) in large old oak foudres with small amounts of sulphur.