Château La Commanderie, Saint Estèphe Cru Bourgeois, Bordeaux, France, 2019

Overview of the Wine
Hand-crafted wines of origin since 1803
For almost 200 years, family-run Weingut Wohlmuth has sat — quite literally — atop Kitzeck im Sausal. It hails from a region known for its many thrilling extremes, a perfect cradle for grand wines.

Since 1803, the Wohlmuth family and its estate in Südsteiermark (South Styria) have cultivated vineyards in and around the highest winegrowing town in the region, Kitzeck im Sausal. The estate owns several of the steepest vineyards anywhere in Europe, with a nearly 100% gradient that requires tremendous work and passion. The extremely sparse slate soils quite literally call the shots here —their unmistakable character shapes each wine.

The Wohlmuths have been cultivating wine in Kitzeck-Sausal for almost 200 years, and the essence of their work remains largely unchanged. Now as then, the solid slate formations in the soil are pounded by hammer into fragments, with each individual vine then painstakingly worked into the barren soil. The extreme steepness of the vineyards, some over 90%, preclude any use of machines. Labor-intensive hand cultivation is thus inherently at the heart of the estate’s work. Yet from cutting the vines to canopy management to selective manual harvest, the Wohlmuth team works hand in hand with nature itself.

Preserving centuries-old single sites and re-cultivating other faded vineyards means accepting incredible trials and challenges. To some, it might well seem like madness. Yet the Wohlmuths embrace all of it — because that hard work ultimately benefits the vines. The multi-faceted slate soils deliver deep complexity, the plentiful sunshine ensures ripeness, and the high altitude provides coolness and tension. By applying such a thoughtful approach in both vineyard and cellar, the Wohlmuths have taken nature’s gifts and perfected them.

Sustainable.

Grape / Blend
55% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon

Origin
St. Estephe, Bordeaux, France

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
The nose is fruity and offers power, a fine concentration. It reveals notes of cassis, wild strawberry, small notes of spices, cuben pepper, cloves, fleshy raspberry associated with fine hints of violet and liquorice. The palate is fruity, well-balanced and offers a juicy/Acidulous frame, a good definition, suavity as well as a juicy/ripe fruit and a very fine tension. On the palate this wine expresses notes of juicy/ripe raspberry, crushed small red berries, small notes of juicy blackberry associated with touches of violet, a racy minerality as well as hints of camphor, clove, very fine hints of nutmeg and ripe almond. Tannins are very discreetly marked.

90 Points - Decanter

Product size: 750ml