Weinviertel | Austria
His father was considered an early pioneer in Austria when he transitioned the vineyards to organics in the early 1980s. When Johannes took over the winery in 2013 he began practicing biodynamics beginning a new chapter for the 350-year-old family winery. Solera systems, intracellular fermentation, Georgian Qvevri and skin contact whites are methods Johannes uses exhaustively. He is obsessed with the notion of organic living as a whole. He grows his own herbs for tea tinctures for treatments in his vineyards along with the other bio-dynamic preps.
Johannes believes in letting nature go its own way. To help this process he aims to interfere in both vineyard and cellar as less as possible.
“if you work on healthy soil in the vineyard, you get healthy vines, which produce more exciting wines. And most of all, you let those good things take their course in the cellar.”
~2021 VELUE GRUNER~
This Grüner Veltliner is part of Johannes’ ‘Velue’ line, which was the ancient name of his village, Velm. Velue means “trees along the river” and referes to the willow trees which grow on the shores of the Sulzbach river, winding through the village.
The wine has the peppery style of a typical Grüner Veltliner but also extra lovely notes of bruised pear, green apple, and yellow flowers.
The grapes are foot-stomped in open top oak vat, macerated on the skins for 6-10 hours. Very gently pressed over a 5-hour cycle, the wine is aged on lees in stainless tanks for just 3 months before bottling.
VELUE GRUNER | 12 x 750ml | SKU #482755 | $22.94
~N/V REVOLUTION WHITE SOLERA~
3 grape varieties: Chardonnay (50%), Riesling (25%) and Scheurebe (25%).
The goal with the Revolution lines was to create a consistency in taste and structure throughout vintages, which is done mainly by the use of a solera-type system for ageing the wines.
The Chardonnay was fermented in amphora, The Schereube in barrels (with a short skin maceration), and the Riesling comes from the solera (from vintages 2013-2020).
Aromatic with savoury herbal notes, apricot, brioche, a bit of spiciness.
REVOLUTION WHITE SOLERA | 12 x 750ml | SKU #482769 | $26.48
~N/V REVOLUTION PINK SOLERA~
The revolutionary taste of this wine is the result of nothing added, nothing removed winemaking. It was macerated for a long time and fermented with whole berries in amphorae to extract structure and flavour from the skins.
Composed of 50% Rösler, 40% Syrah, 10% St. Laurent. The Rösler is whole-bunch pressed, fermented in tank and aged in neutral barrels, while the Syrah soaks on skins for 2 days before fermenting & ageing in barrel. The St. Laurent is pulled from the solera system, and also forms part of the Numen Rosé.
REVOLUTION PINK SOLERA | 12 x 750ml | SKU #326036 | $27.13
~N/V REVOLUTION RED SOLERA~
Zweigelt for fruit and acidity. Cabernet with long skin fermentation in amphora for structure and body. Rosler in solera system for character & complexity! Crunchy and fragrant. Black cherry and dark plum, wild herbs and ripe tannins.
REVOLUTION RED SOLERA | 12 x 750ml | SKU #482772 | $26.48
~2021 PARCELLAIRE BLANC #1~
North facing and near the forests where the old vineyards grow. Acidity and pure freshness. Delicious aromas of gooseberry and quince. Chardonnay, Welschriesling grown on limestone. The Welschriesling is whole-bunch fermented in amphoras, pressed and matured in 500L oak barrels. Chardonnay is whole-cluster pressed, fermented in old NUMEN barrels and aged for 8 months under naturally occurring flor.
PARCELLAIRE BLANC #1 | 12 x 750ml | SKU #482763 | $30.48
~2021 PARCELLAIRE ROUGE~
The Parcellaire wines are made with grapes selected from only the coolest parts of the oldest vineyards – facing north and northeast, with windy hilltops, all of them growing on lime-sandstone soils. 62% Cabernet Franc and 38% Syrah.
The Cabernet Franc was whole bunch fermented in amphoras, then pressed and matured in 500-liter barrels. The Syrah was briefly macerated, pressed, then fermented in old Numen barrels and aged for ten months. The wine balances elegance and minerality with a brambly dark fruits and a hint of herbs.
PARCELLAIRE ROUGE | 12 x 750ml | SKU #318902 | $30.65
~2020 NUMEN RIESLING~
The Numen wines only come from the oldest vineyard sites, the parcels that have been in the family for the the longest. the vines are 40+ years old and grow in a northeast-facing basin. The grapes are meticulously hand sorted for this wine – first there is a partial carbonic maceration, and then gently pressed to ferment and age on full lees in amphora for a year.
Unconventional, and fascinatingly clear. Aromas of apricot and stone fruit, with an herbal-savoury tone and a hint of spiciness. Exceptionally focused, with density and weight, the wine has a creamy texture and finely balanced acidity,
NUMEN Riesling | 6 x 750ml | SKU #326039 | $46.42
~2020 NUMEN FUME BLANC~
The Numen Fumé blanc from Johannes Zillinger is an unfiltered, cloudy sauvignon blanc. 100% skin fermentation of de-stemmed, uncrushed Sauvignon Blanc in Gerogian amphorae for 2 weeks. After spending time in Amphora, the wine is aged in used barrels. The final result is a creamy white wine with great character, richness and complexity. A Sauvignon Blanc, reminiscent of the grand wines of the Silex soils of the Loire Valley. Intense minerality, depth and elegance. Lightly herbal, lemon peel and nectarine.
The Numen Fumé blanc was fermented in amphora with whole berries for several days, then gently pressed, aged for over a year on the lees in old barriques without sulphites and bottled unfiltered.