2017 Umathum St. Laurent - Vom Stein

Josef “Pepi” Umathum is one of the stars of Austrian wine. His biodynamically-farmed family vineyards are in the Burgenland growing district called Neusiedlersee (Lake Neusiedl), very near Austria’s border with Hungary. He is a prolific red wine specialist, with 85% of his vineyards comprising bläufrankisch, Sankt (Saint) Laurent, and zweigelt (a.k.a. rotberger).

Sankt (Saint) Laurent likely originated in Austria, and certainly is one of the important red varieties there now, especially in the Neusiedlersee. Its name probably comes from an old Austrian synonym for the grape that refers to St. Laurentius, the patron saint of chefs; his saint’s day falls on August 10th, when the variety historically began to ripen. St. Laurent is the offspring of pinot noir and a still-unknown other variety. See the excellent article Once and Future St. Laurent for more information.

'Vom Stein' means “from rock” and is Umathum’s top St. Laurent. The vineyard is stony, gravelly, and sandy, with lots of quartzite. The wine aged in barrels for 18 months. The intense nose is pinot-noir-like but with a darker berry-and-cherry quality. There’s a little gamey smokiness and some leafiness. In the mouth, the wine is tangy, slightly spicy, and beautifully textured. These are Josef Umathum’s pairing recommendations: “Heavy meat - deer or lamb. Everything with mushrooms, and maybe cheese, would work very well.” You can pop the glass stopper and pour without decanting; a Burgundy stem or other wide glass is optimal. The wine will continue to evolve positively for at least three to five years.