Summary
Weingut Wohlmuth in Fresing near Kitzeck im Sausal is one of the defining addresses of Südsteiermark (Southern Styria). The family has farmed vineyards here since 1803 – today in its seventh generation and across around 55 hectares that count among the steepest vineyards in Europe. What sets Wohlmuth apart from most Styrian estates is the bedrock: instead of sand, marl and limestone, the Sausal is built on ancient slate. It gives the wines a cool, saline and spicy signature that shows above all in Sauvignon Blanc and in Riesling, a rarity here. The estate is a member of the STK and ranks among Austria's highest-rated producers.
History
The estate's roots reach back to 1803 – since then winegrowing in Fresing has been firmly in family hands. For generations this was a mixed hill farm of the kind typical for the Sausal: steep slopes, small parcels, a great deal of manual labour.
The leap to the top came in the 1980s under Gerhard Wohlmuth senior, who consistently focused on quality, reduced yields and the development of the best sites. Since 1986 an artist has also designed the vintage label each year – a tradition that gives the estate an unmistakable look.
Today Gerhard Wohlmuth leads the seventh generation together with his wife Marion; his parents Maria and Gerhard remain involved. The business has grown considerably in that time: in 2003 around ten hectares in Neckenmarkt in Mittelburgenland were added, and in 2005 sites in the area around Gamlitz. The core and heart of it all, however, remain the steep slopes around Kitzeck.
Location & Terroir
Kitzeck im Sausal lies at around 560 metres above sea level and is thus considered Austria's highest wine-growing municipality. The estate's sites are staggered roughly between 400 and 600 metres – altitudes at which the grapes ripen far more slowly than in the warmer sites along the Southern Styrian Wine Route. The result is wines with lively acidity, clear fruit and pronounced freshness.
Geologically, the Sausal is a special case. While sand, marl and limestone dominate in the rest of Southern Styria, here it is ancient, weathered phyllite slate – partly black, partly reddish, threaded with veins of quartz. These meagre, free-draining soils force the vines to root deeply and give the wines their unmistakable spice and salinity.
Then there is the topography: gradients of up to 90% turn every step into manual work; there is no room for machines. Up to 1,200 working hours per hectare and year go into these extreme sites – a multiple of what flat vineyards require.
Style & Philosophy
Wohlmuth works to a clear maxim: the soil should be recognisable in the glass. The cellar style is correspondingly restrained – hand harvesting, reduced yields, frequently spontaneous fermentation, long lees ageing and a careful use of wood that never masks the fruit. Depending on the wine, the single-vineyard bottlings mature in large wooden casks or in 500-litre barrels, in some cases for over 18 months on the fine lees.
Stylistically the wines are cool, taut and spicy rather than opulent. Sauvignon Blanc here shows less exotic tropical fruit than in warmer sites, and instead herbal spice, flinty notes and a saline pull. With Riesling – a genuine rarity in Styria – the slate plays to its full strength: slender, citrussy, mineral and remarkably long-lived. The range is completed by Gelber Muskateller, Weißburgunder, Chardonnay, Grauburgunder and Gewürztraminer, plus a small red-wine section and bottle-fermented sparkling wine. The estate is certified under Nachhaltig Austria.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range follows the three-tier origin pyramid of the Südsteiermark DAC: regional wine, village wine and, at the top, single-vineyard wine. Among the estate's best-known sites are:
- Ried Edelschuh – the estate's most famous vineyard, first documented in 1322, meagre black and red slate with quartz, gradients of up to 90%; classified as a Große STK Ried
- Ried Steinriegl – a slate site with distinct parcels such as Strohbart
- Ried Dr. Wunsch – one of the most original sites in Kitzeck-Sausal, home to one of the house's best-known Rieslings
- Ried Gola, Ried Altenberg, Ried Einöd and Ried Sausaler Schlössl
The top wines are Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling from Edelschuh, Steinriegl and Dr. Wunsch – wines that develop in the bottle over many years.
Awards
Wohlmuth has been among Austria's consistently highly rated estates for years. In September 2023 James Suckling awarded the Sauvignon Blanc Ried Edelschuh 2021 98 out of 100 points – the highest score given to a Styrian wine in that tasting. In the same year the Riesling Ried Edelschuh 2021 won the Vinaria tasting „Beste Weine Österreichs“ with 17.6 out of 20 points.
At Falstaff, too, the single-vineyard wines regularly achieve scores around and above 94 points, among them the Riesling Ried Dr. Wunsch across several vintages. The wine guide wein.plus lists the estate in its highest category. All told, Wohlmuth stands for what the Sausal can do: slate wines with coolness, spice and stature.