Wine Diary
Waiting for TBA
Langenlois vineyards are entirely harvested! Well, not entirely...Some small parcels of deeply rooted vines still hold super mature grapes standing out against the invading early-winter storms. We still have about 1,5 ha of netted rows in a vineyard with the lovely name “Sauberg” (“pigs hill” we dare presume that the site does probably not carry its name to the honor of legendary “Liubisian” (oldest name of Langenlois) hunters killing wild boars there with their bare fists like the Gallic cartoon hero Obelix, however the devastating damage done to vineyards by those clever wild mammals is legendary, and since the opening of the iron curtain more boars do wander through the area).
After a fruitful harvest of Auslesen and even a Beerenauslese, we decided at the end of November “to put all our eggs in one basket” on Sauberg and go for a TBA, when just 3% of the botrytised grapes were shriveled to complete dryness. One week later, after a very cold, but often sunny period the grapes arrived at about 5-6% - too few to actually pick, so we will wait for another week. The Atlantic Storm “Xaver” is affecting us only marginally, though it might cause trouble, due to another more humid period. In any case, later on, we will have to select very, very carefully. Only about half of the berries will find their way into the cellar. A little barrel of Chardonnay TBA would be an almost bizarre crown jewel of this harvest, rich of individual wines. So then let’s see: TBA or birdseed…To Be Announced!
Willi Bründlmayer