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Circo Vino

February 2016 Newsletter

The Original Leading Edge: Malat Winery

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In this issue, get to know the Malats, the Kremstal, and the history of vintage Sekt in Austria.

The Original Leading-Edge

The Malat Winery, located on the south bank of the Danube River in the Kremstal districtus of Austria, has been producing exceptional wines since 1722. Ninth generation winemaker Michael has continued this tradition, taking over the fifty hectare estate from his pioneering father Gerald in 2008. Michael studied horticulture in Vienna and developed his mastery of viticulture internationally. If you can’t find him on the estate, you might find him waterskiing on the Danube.

Known for their excellence in sparkling wine or Sekt, with Gerald producing the first Austrian Estate-Bottled Brut Sekt in 1976, the Malat Estate excels in crafting top quality wines of all categories: white, red, sweet and sparkling. While others may wane, the Malat Winery continues its pursuit of perfection and evolves with the times while keeping an eye on its rich past. Vineyard sites are hand-worked, with organic and sustainable practices integral to the winemaking process. Most recently, Crazy Creatures, a fun entry-level Grüner Veltliner was added to the delicious Malat collection, a fresh addition to a historic line. A modern boutique hotel, opened in 2012, offers guest rooms and dining situated directly upon the beautiful vineyards of this historic and prestigious estate.

Map courtesy of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board
Map courtesy of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board

The Kremstal

kremstalSituated on both banks of the Danube River, the Kremstal DAC is nestled between the famous Wachau wine growing region to the southwest and the notable Kamptal region to the northeast. These three regions make up the most prestigious wine growing area in all of Austria.

With climatic conditions similar to the Wachau, if only slightly warmer, the Kremstal benefits from the easterly warm winds of the Pannonian basin and cool, humid breezes from the Waldviertal forest to the north. These weather patterns are influenced by the almighty Danube, whose effects help to mitigate the hot days and soften the harsh winters, creating the unique microclimate found in the Kremstal. The Malat Estate, itself, sits on the south bank of the Danube, across the river from the historic wine town of Krems, and at the foot of the historic Göttweiger Berg. Soil types in the Malat vineyards are varied with the most important Erste Lage sites of Gottschelle, Steinbühl, and Silberbichl composed of löss-covered sandy, loam, to limestone primary rock, to löss covered old Danube gravel with mica schist inclusions, respectively.

This video from our friends at Candid Wines gives us a quick overview of the single vineyards of the Malat Estate with Michael Malat.

The Sekt Saga

sekt-sagaGerald Malat made history by producing the first Austrian Estate-Bottled Brut Sekt in 1976 defying established laws at the time, which forbade smaller houses from producing sparkling wine without a trade commission.   In Gerald’s landmark Supreme Court case, he argued winegrowers were much the same as farmers in that they did not need a trade commission to produce flour from their grain or timber from their trees. The Austrian Supreme Court agreed and changed legislation to allow estate produced sparkling wine. Atypical of many Austrian Sekt producers, the Malat Winery crafts their Sekt and Rosé Sekt in the méthode traditionnelle, using Chardonnay and Pinot Noir just as in Champagne.  The wine is fermented in the bottle, laid down in the cellar, where they are hand riddled and eventually disgorged with no dosage. To this day the winery is one of the most well known and respected méthode traditionnelle producers with 20% of production dedicated to sparkling wine.

A great Sekt milestone was made in 2015 when a three-tier quality pyramid was established under leadership of the Austrian Sekt Committee to emphasize grape origin and maturation on lees.

sekt-quality-pyramid

Crazy Creatures

crazy-creaturesMalat Crazy Creatures Grüner Veltliner is made from 100% Estate grown fruit.  It is a mouth-watering introduction to Austria’s national grape variety and a whimsical extension to the serious line up of single vineyard wines Malat has become known for.  With three collectible labels, designed by Michael himself, the wine has become an instant success, winning accolades for the unique labels as well as for the immediate drinkability, perfect for any occasion. (www.crazycreatures.at)


The Malat Family: Michael, Gerald, and Wilma Photo Courtesy of Weingut Malat
Michael and life-partner, Daniela, during harvest

A Word from Our Founder

Love, It’s What for Dinner!

It is wholly appropriate that February’s newletter feature the family and wine of Weingut Malat because they collectively embody the definition of Love, as in that strong and positive emotion we feel when we have a deep affection or high regard for someone or something. The family is passionate, intense, loyal, neighborly, generous and vibrating with verve.  I’m convinced that their love of life and their pioneering spirit travels the light waves into their wines.

The wines of Malat are some of the newest to our portfolio but the family is one of the most established in Austria. Scraping the sky with his mass of blonde curls, the tall, smiling son of Gerald and Wilma completely belies what one would picture as the heir to this historic Kremstal estate. Often bursting onto the scene in a colorful ensemble like “kelly green jeans” and a comic-book inspired shirt, you really never know what kind of adventure awaits. Water sports, heli-skiing, scuba diving, rock climbing, motor boating and extreme wine cellar raiding are among the activities of which Michael is an expert in addition to being a world class vigneron (with 20% of their production dedicated to Sekt, it’s no wonder his personality is ebullient and effervescent. Pun totally intended). Then, of course, there is the family creative streak which lends itself to drawing, painting, interior decorating and ultimately designing a magnificent boutique hotel retrofit into a 500-year-old barn on the property.

When you sit at lunch on the patio with the Malats, you feel the vibrancy of their Love. It is not a mushy, gushy, being hugged by Auntie in her apron kind of Love, but the kind of Love that sends intense, thin, wavelengths of passion through the air.  It is the kind of Love that crackles, silently, with its strong presence. The kind of Love that washes over you in a neighborly way that makes you feel like you’ve lived next door all your life or that you wish you had.  The kind of Love that inspires you to eat and drink with gusto. It is the gift that wine gives that you never could capture in a tasting note or score… it is the manifestation of the Love of Life.

If Circo Vino can transmit even a little of this Malat Magic by importing Michael’s fun wines like Crazy Creatures or his family’s legacy wines from indomitable Erste Lage sites like Gottschelle, Silberbichl and Steinbühl, the world will be a happier, more lovely place.

February is the month of Love. Go out there; find some Malat and feel the Love my friends.

Love, it’s what’s for dinner!

–Sariya Jarasviroj Brown

Photo Credit, The Source Imports: Grill Master Gerald
Photo Credit, The Source Imports: A feast on the patio at Hotel Malat 2014

Ratings and Resources

Brut Reserve Falstaff Ratings:
2008 (92), 2009 (92),
2010 (92)
Crazy Creatures Website
Malat in Tropic Magazine
Adventures with Michael

Traditionsweingüter-Association of Austrian Traditional Wine Estates
Find more in depth information in John Haeger’s
“Riesling Rediscovered”

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