Producer >
Dating from 1722, with vineyards in the regions of Kremstal and Wachau.Winemaker Michael Malat, believes in the natural purity of wine, thereby not changing the profile of the grape. He uses no irrigation, planting his vines intensively, minerality coming from the terroir. He uses no Botrytis, and if present he will take it out. Natural fermentation needs cloudiness, nutrients and yeasts; you can’t do this with botrytis. An abundance of small tanks in the winery, allow all blocks to be fermented separately. Michael reckons Pinot Noir, Riesling and Chardonnay are the varietal that will thrive in future years, climate change being an important factor.
Viticulture >
Located in the Kremstal region, the Malat Estate sits on the hillside of Gottweiger Berg where the vineyards benefit from a microclimate regulated by the Danube River, with hot days and cool nights. The soil composition is loess, gravel and primary rock. The Pinot Noir comes from 10-50 year old vines around the village of Palt on a soil composition of lime rich loess, clay and Danube gravel. The farming is organic and the grapes are harvested by hand.
Winemaking >
Harvest
handpicked
Fermentation
spontaneous
large wooden barrel | used barrel
Maturing
large wooden barrel | used barrel
The flat-lying vineyard site is located at the foot of the Göttweig mountain, on an ancient terrace of the Danube River. The name relates to the word ‘Goetschen’ from the Salzburg region, which refers to sharp rocky projections on a mountain ridge. There is such a projection in the Gottschelle area, falling away steeply down towards the road to the village of Steinaweg. The vineyard was first documented (in 1341) as ‘Gotschalich’. The sandy-silty soils are derived from the underlying, highly calcareous, loess. The thick covering of loess was deposited over several stages of the Ice Age, as indicated by the intervening layers of gravel and ancient soils that are exposed in the ravine below the vineyard.
Gruner Veltliner
13
AUSTRIA
12
Cork
Malat Weingut
Organic Conversion
Vegan
Vegetarian 
Fact Sheet
