Weingut Werlitsch 'Ex Vero I' 2020

Ex Vero comes in three flavors: I, II and III refer to the steepness and elevation of the sites with III being the uppermost, steepest and meagerest soils of the vineyards surrounding the Werlitsch winery. Biodynamic farming in the vineyard. The grapes are left on the skins for a few days, pressed and left to ferment spontaneously in large open wood barrels. 2 years of aging on the fine lees are followed by another year in the bottle before its release.

"The Werlitsch winery sits at bottom of steep vineyards that surround the winery like an amphitheater. Rolling hills provide the most austere soils and strongest winds close to the ridge, while deeper and more fertile soils can be found at the bottom, near the winery. Owner Ewald Tscheppe decided to make Ex Vero III from those highest elevations and the more fertile soils would produce Ex Vero I, leaving the middle part of the hill to the Ex Vero II. The vines grow on marl known locally as Opok. Ewald's wines are expressive and fascinating cuvées of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc (most of the time, anyway). High acidity from early harvest is tamed with extended time on the fine lees in used oak barrels of various origins. Ewald's skin-fermented wines, the Freude (joy) and Glueck (good fortune) are bottled in clay and will have fermented on their skins anywhere from a week to a full year."