Christian Tschida (pronounced like cheetah) has the great fortune to cultivate 10 hectares of old vines that have been in his family for 4 generations, since the 19th century. The winery is located in the Neusiedler See part of Burgenland, the eastern most point of Austria, more traditionally known for red and sweet wine production. The vineyards consist of sandy gravel, schist and limestone, and all enjoy a moderating influence from the extremely large and nearby Lake Neusiedler. Christian takes a hands off approach to winemaking, and the wines spend a great deal of time in barrel in contact with oxygen, some for as many as 5 years before bottling. Christian ferments all of his wines in closed top tanks that sit in the shade outside, in which the grapes are foot stomped, and then the juice is moved inside to barrel for aging. Many of the wines receive zero sulfur additions, except some of the reds, which Christian feels benefit from a small dose of sulfur at bottling.
Personality: we all know this guy is capable of incredible wines but wow. Dense, focused, precise, incredibly layered, and full of details that Christian cares about so much. Truly unique and rare white.
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45 year old vines. Stomped by foot. Aged 2 years in large Stockinger barrels. It would be hard to guess Riesling in a blind. It has a smoked, nutty character which is a little confusing. Still known features as rubber and citrus. Engaging sea-spray and stoney minerality. This wine is all about texture though. Layers of fruit with a nervy strike of saline. Long horizontal finish... f****** insane wine!
Orange marmalade, sugar, honey, citrus, minerality, sous bois, cooked plum. Medium body, medium acidity and long finish.