If wine were made by numbers, Stagard would = 1,000 + 15 + 7 + 17 + 10. But it isn't, it's made by people, specifically Urban and his wife Dominique Stagard. A couple committed... Read More

If wine were made by numbers, Stagard would = 1,000 + 15 + 7 + 17 + 10. But it isn't, it's made by people, specifically Urban and his wife Dominique Stagard. A couple committed to honoring the past to create the future of Austrian wine. Their cellar is 1,000 years old and Urban, who started oenology school at 15 is the 7th generation of his family to run the estate.

Today they organically farm 17 hectares of Austria's best vineyards across the Kremstal and the Wachau. Here, only 10% of the vines are Riesling, but Urban's obsession with German wines, puts the grape front and center of his line up. He uses it to explore the terroir of his homeland and produces wines that are detailed, pure, and juicy, displaying apples and a hint of apricot stretched over a linear structure. It also influences is Grüner Veltliner bottlings which trade the peppery notes typical of the grape for more broad flavors and cutting acidity.

All of the production follows the traditional approach of utilizing time over chemical additions or heavy handling of the wines. Long lees aging is employed to allow the wines to harmonize and express themselves in the most detailed fashion possible. Three levels of wines are produced: Handwerk for everyday consumption, single-sites for exploration and understanding, and Tradition -- to capture the essence of Riesling itself.

Lesehof Stagard wines display the technical perfection of a mathematician through the lens of of an artist.