Weingut Schloss Gobelsburg, 1ÖTW “Ried Heiligenstein” Riesling

Schloss Gobelsburg is just one of those properties that make you stand back in awe: The Zwettl Monastery secured its first piece of grape-growing land in 1171, and the Gobelsburg castle that overlooks them dates back even further! From the time the monks were gifted these vines up until the 1700s, a flurry of financial duress and change had occurred with no less than 19 different families called the estate/castle home. Fast forwarding a bit more, after the two World Wars, it was Father Bertrand Baumann who restored Schloss Gobelsburg to its former glory, and, as of 1996, the property has been run by Michael Moosbrugger and Willi Bründlmayer. Schloss Gobelsburg’s three hectares of vines (~35 years of age) within Heligenstein are in the section facing entirely south. This full exposure to the blazing sun, plus a slightly later harvest, endows the crop with immense concentration and flavor profile. In the cellar, grapes are whole-cluster pressed and maturation on lees occurs for 18 months