Markus Altenburger Chardonnay Vom Kalk 2021
  • Chardonnay
  • Biodynamic, Natural, Organic
  • Dry
  • Light Bodied
  • 750ml
  • 12.5% alc./vol

Markus Altenburger Chardonnay Vom Kalk 2021

Burgenland, Austria
$28.95per bottle ($347.40per case)
12 bottles per case
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Bright & Lush

The Altenburger family has farmed land in and around Jois since the 16th century. Their vineyards are only half an hour from Vienna, but seemingly in another cosmos altogether.

Grown on calcareous loam, the The Chardonnay vom Kalk is the counterpart to Blaufränkisch vom Kalk – which is Altenburger's most famous wine. Markus lets the vines do their work in the vineyards and the wine do its thing at the winery. The result is therefore honest: natural wines that translate the terroir and the cool climate aspect through and through. In a visit to the winery in May, 2022, Markus confirmed that 2021 had been an exceptional year for his white wines.

For this wine, half of the fruit gets pressed directly, while the other half macerates on the skins for two days. This skin contact maceration adds a lot of texture and character to the wine. 50% of the juice ferments in concrete eggs, and 50% in big oak casks.

Pale gold colour, with a stony, chalky nose and aromas of fresh peaches. On the palate, fine aromas of exotic fruits such as tangerine and meyer lemon bloom, accompanied by a salty minerality. It has a dense structure coming from the ageing in concrete and big wooden barrels, with fresh acidity. Long finish.

Enjoy this Chardonnay with with fresh fish or creamy lemony pasta.

About the Winery

Markus Altenburger

The Altenburger family has farmed land in and around Jois since the 16th century. Their vineyards are only half an hour from Vienna, but seemingly in another cosmos altogether. 

Markus is fascinated by Blaufränkisch – the red grape of Burgenland. He works with massal selections from his Gritschenberg vineyard's old vines. There, loose clusters and small berries are well adapted to the dry Pannonian summers. The grapes express the schist for fruiter wines charming in their youth, as well as the limestone, for length and structure. The wines express this tension, the influences of limestone and schist soils, and something of the wild abundance of nature, as well.

Since Markus took over his family’s estate more than a decade ago, he’s moved from what he calls “well-behaved wines” to those that are much closer to nature and bear a far more personal stamp. In the cellar, he favours native yeasts, minimal added sulphur, long, protective lees contact, and concrete and neutral wood for ageing. 

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