Chardonnay Smaragd Kirchweg 2018

The Kirchweg vineyard gets its name from its location along the former path to the next closest church (in St. Michael). The vineyard name counts among the oldest in the Wachau region, already mentioned in writing in 1256. The northern part of the slope is dominated by Hochrain (Ralais) weathered rock, which was deposited here over the course of time as a debris cone from a small stream.

Sufficient precipitation and low temperatures marked the outset of 2018 wine year, and budding began relatively late. But April and May were unusually warm, so that vineyards were soon able to make up for the late start, with flowering setting in already in late May. The warm June weather then accelerated flowering, while a cooler period later in July ultimately gave way to a very hot summer. An intense bout of hail hit the Spitzer Graben on June 21, leaving in its wake significant yield losses near the villages of Viessling and Gut am Steg. Thanks to the hot summer weather, harvesting began very soon, already in early September, only to continue as usual until well into October, and even November in the vicinity of Spitz. The yield for Grüner Veltliner was moderately higher than expected for most years, while smaller quantities than in past years were harvested of other varietals, such as Riesling and Weißburgunder/Pinot blanc. Balanced, dense and elegant, the wines of 2018 are marked by a style typical of cooler vintages. Compared with 2017, the wines rate somewhat lower on alcohol content and surprisingly high on acidity.

Our family business is located in the historical village St. Michael in the Region „Wachau“, a World Heritage. Although the total wine growing in this region is just over 1.300 ha, Wachau is one of the most famous white wine areas in the world. Our property was bought by Mr. Leopold Bruch, the grandfather of the actual owner Richard Bruch, so our family is operating in the 3rd generation now. We operate about 3,5 ha vineyards as well as 0,45 ha apricot. The old vines which are partly over 50 years old, growing on granite in the special microclimate of the river Danube valley Wachau are an excellent basis for high quality wines. Of course we treat our vineyards as close to nature as possible, for example we don´t use herbicides. A process, well ballanced between modern technology and classical methods is the basis for our very fruity wines with advanced