2017 Umathum St. Laurent - Vom Stein

Josef “Pepi” Umathum is one of the stars of Austrian wine. His biodynamically-farmed family vineyards are in the Burgenland growing district called Neusiedlersee (Lake Neusiedl), very near Austria’s border with Hungary. He is a prolific red wine specialist, with 85% of his vineyards comprising bläufrankisch, Sankt (Saint) Laurent, and zweigelt (a.k.a. rotberger). Sankt (Saint) Laurent likely originated in Austria, and certainly is one of the important red varieties there now, especially in the Neusiedlersee. Its name probably comes from an old Austrian synonym for the grape that refers to St. Laurentius, the patron saint of chefs; his saint’s day falls on August 10th, when the variety historically began to ripen. St. Laurent is the offspring of pinot noir and a still-unknown other variety. See the excellent article Once and Future St. Laurent for more information. 'Vom Stein' means “from rock” and is Umathum’s top St. Laurent. The vineyard is stony, gravelly, and sandy, with lots of qu