If you enter Austria in search of Sauvignon, the food cognoscenti will lead you to the region of Styria.

…Once you arrive in Styria, without fail shopkeepers and chefs will scribble the Kitzeck Sauzal address of Weingut Wohlmuth on your napkin.

Yes – Wohlmuth produces the most profound Sauvignon Blanc your nose has likely ever experienced.

If you are new to the delights of Styria, Stephan Reinhardt recently wrote an excellent piece on the region for Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate: “The wines of Styria cannot be compared to those from the Danube. Although the majority of the wines are also white, the soils often are coral limestone or opok (marl), and where they are not, they are of volcanic origin. With the exception of Sauvignon Blanc, varieties known in Niederösterreich (Lower Austria) are also cultivated here, such as Chardonnay (which is often called Morillon in Styria), Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Muscat. Grüner Veltliner, however, plays no role at all here in the south of Austria on the border with Slovenia or in the west within the province of Carinthia, and Pinot Noir also plays only a subordinate role. Riesling, on the other hand, is found here but really—in terms of relevant quantity and quality—only in the Kitzeck-Sausal, where dark, partly reddish-colored slate soils are predominant…Wohlmuth has [also] firmly established itself among the very best domaines in the region.”

From Wine Advocate, to Falstaff, to Suckling, this set of 2021’s represents one of the most anticipated releases out of Austria this year.

To give you a taste of the vintage, we made up a 6×6 mixed case of two wines: Kitzeck-Sausal & Südsteiermark

Read the details on each below:

Weingut Wohlmuth 2021 Sauvignon Blanc Kitzeck-Sausal (93 JS, 94 F):

“What a stunning nose of fresh basil, mandarin orange and melon. On the medium-bodied palate there’s also wonderful fruit, but the herbal freshness is stunning and it flips effortlessly into pronounced wet-stone minerality. Vibrant and long finish. From the best sites, mostly with red slate soil. Fermented in large neutral oak and matured on the lees until June after the harvest. Vegan. Sustainable. Drink or hold. Screw cap.” – James Suckling

Weingut Wohlmuth 2021 Sauvignon Blanc Südsteiermark:

The Weingut Wohlmuth Sauvignon Blanc Südsteiermark is a dry white wine made from hand-picked grapes from Südsteiermark, or Southern Styria, a small wine producing region on the southern border of Austria. The unique climate and terroirs perfectly suited to the production of crisp, aromatic white wines. It is one of Austria’s DACs (Districtus Austriae Controllatus), a legal designation of quality wine. The grapes are grown in soil made up of paleozoic red shale. Ripe yellow and red fruits, paprika, has power, skillfully plays with ripe, warm and cool mineral aromas, spirited – the Wohlmuth classic!