2005 Zieregg Sauvignon Blanc

The 2005 Sauvignon Blanc Zieregg – which aged in a higher percentage of barriques than the 2006 (or than Tement intends to employ in future) – offers a musky, pungently herbal, caraway- and lanolin-tinged nose, musk melon and gooseberry fruit on the palate, and a nutty, faintly smoky finish. Had the approach been that of 2006 (abstracting from its being an inherently superior vintage), this wine would probably have retained more refreshing fruit, florality and minerality. Tement’s expansion has not stopped at the Slovenian border, and in 2006 he acquired the neighboring holdings of the Carmelites – where his father long worked as winemaker – and since replanted their 90 year old patchwork of vine varieties to insure more Zieregg Sauvignon for the future. Tement has begun using glass stoppers on his wines in lieu of corks. Given the extent of his offerings and given that I travel to Styria only every other year, I cannot pretend to have tasted Tement’s entire 2005 and 2006 collections, but only the subset (perhaps half) that he chose to show me in the time we had available. Tement is modifying his approach with Sauvignon – especially in the top sites – having decided that lower yields and the consequent ability to harvest somewhat earlier are more advantageous (not to mention less risky) than the long hang time he has traditionally practiced with this variety. Importer: Weygandt-Metzler Importing (www.weygandtmetzler.com), Unionville, PA; tel. 610-486-0800