92 Pt. (WA) Austrian Gem - Perfect for Thanksgiving!

TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT THIS SEASON

“The most common question I get these days is ‘how have people's shopping habits changed since the pandemic?’ And this is one of the few positives that I've found. The selections people are making are a bit more out of the box and they are much more eager to look for alternatives to their regular go-to wines. Luckily, the Wine House is the kind of place that is able to offer these special "off the beaten path" kind of bottles!

Few people think of Austria and think of red wine, but Hannes Schuster has quietly made a name for himself as one of the best red wine producers in the country. This is no overstatement. He tends to the tiny 14 hectare holding his family owns (Rosi is his mother) and has only worked to improve it, as he's transitioned most of it to organic farming. Of that 14 hectares, only 30% is Sankt Laurent. This leaves us with a limited amount of the 2018 Rosi Schuster Sankt Laurent to share! If I were to liken it to a more commonly known variety, I would say it's Pinot Noir-esque in a lot of ways; the two are actually related. Light, juicy, and lightly plush, with lots of red and black berry fruit, and a hint of spice. It's the perfect wine at this time of the year and the perfect unexpected pairing for a classic Thanksgiving dinner. This is a great value for everything it has to offer and I'm delighted to see this producer get the attention they deserve. Get a bottle or two and share something new with your friends and family!” – Maria Garcia, The Wine House

Remember: The Wine House has you covered for the holidays! You can shop online 24/7 for wines, premium spirits, beers, sakes, classes & events, glassware and other select accessories for enjoying your wines. The Wine House is open for walk-in customers and curbside pickup is available between 11AM and 6PM. Our store holiday hours will be 11AM to 7PM beginning Monday, December 6 until Wednesday, December 23. We will close at 5PM on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Be on the lookout for our blowout special deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Supplies are limited!

If you would like to send your wine gift orders to multiple recipients, you can submit the Multiple Recipient Gift Order form via our website or click the template hyperlink on the order form page and email the recipient spreadsheet to us. We look forward to helping you!

Check out our CLOSEOUT wines on our website! Quantities are limited to current stock and new closeout wines are added regularly!

NOTE: Our store is open between 11AM and 6PM. When placing your order, you can select “in-store pickup” or “curbside pickup.” Please see updated curbside pickup instructions below.

CHAT! If you see a chat bubble in the lower right corner on our website, a Wine House employee is ready to answer your questions. Please note that chat is only available between 11AM and 6PM, and the bubble only displays when an employee is available.

NOTE! For orders over $250, we offer Special Local Delivery
Monday - Friday to addresses up to 10 miles from the store for $10/case. Additional delivery options are also available on our website.

92 Points: “The 2018 Burgenland Sankt Laurent is clear, intense and spicy on the nose that is beautifully pure and fresh, with spicy concentration. On the palate, this is a juicy, round, fresh, charmingly sweet and slightly licoricey red with elegance and so much charm. It is made from grapes sourced between Donnerskirchen, Osslip, St Margarethen, Zagerdorf and Rust, fermented together (with 20% whole clusters) and aged in 500- to 2,000-liter vats. 11.5% alcohol. Tasted in June 2020. Drink dates 2020 – 2030.” – Stephan Reinhardt, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (May 2021)

FROM THE IMPORTER

Origin: Austria, Burgenland
Classification Quality grade: Österreichischer Qualitätswein
Site: Vineyard Selection from Sankt Margarethen, Zagersdorf, Oslip and Donnerskirchen
Site Type: hilly land
Varietal: St. Laurent 100 %
Varietal Age:11 - 31 years
Sea Level:120 - 180 m
Soil: sand, lime, loam, slate
Cellar
Harvest Type: handpicked
Harvest Time: middle/ august
Fermentation: spontaneous
Maturing: large wooden barrel | used barrel | 10 month(s)
Data
Wine Type: still wine, red, dry
Allergens: sulfites
Drinking Temperature:14 - 16 °C
Optimum Drinking Year: 2019 - 2026

ABOUT ROSI SCHUSTER

My parents Rosi and Franz laid the foundation stone for the winery in the late 1970s. As a winemaker's daughter, my mother graduated from the viticulture school in Eisenstadt and subsequently worked at her parents' winery in Sankt Margarethen in Burgenland. My father was a teacher for cellar management in Eisenstadt and brought in a few vineyards, almost three hectares. He always stayed true to his apprenticeship, which is why the winery should bear the name of the winemaker Rosi Schuster from the beginning.

I vinified my first wines, a Chardonnay and a Sankt Laurent, in 2000 while I was still at school in Klosterneuburg. At the time, Sankt Laurent in particular did not fit the portfolio of the winery, which was mostly known for cuvées made from French grape varieties. For me, however, it was the perfect playground - and independent of my parents. They let me have my own experience. Even back then, old vines were important to me in order to best express origin in wine. In the cellar I consciously took back the influence of the wood and worked with spontaneous fermentation and long exposure to yeast.

Generation change . When my father fell ill in 2005, I entered the winery, which now comprises twelve hectares of vineyards, and ran it together with my parents. In 2007, after the death of my father, my mother Rosi Schuster transferred the winery to me. Together with her, I had restructured it in the meantime, switched to organic farming and decided that the name should remain unchanged. When the company was handed over, I focused on the Blaufränkisch and Sankt Laurent grape varieties. I sold, cleared or exchanged the vineyards with international grape varieties, which is why the area under vines even shrank a little.

Origin . I have a clear idea of where I come from. Burgenland, one of the oldest and most exciting wine-growing regions in the world - with sediments of the Pannonian primeval sea, its gentle hills and slopes and with its Pannonian climate - shows the way. Local grape varieties carry the area in their DNA and only they can express it.

Grape varieties . Sankt Laurent and Blaufränkisch are my main grape varieties and make up around 75 percent of the total production of 50,000 bottles. Around 12,000 bottles are filled with white wine, mainly with Grüner Veltliner and Furmint.

Vineyards . They are spread over about forty parcels in six Burgenland villages: Sankt Margarethen, Zagersdorf, Oslip, Schützen am Gebirge, Donnerskirchen and Müllendorf. I cultivate a total of 14 hectares of vineyards, of which almost 13 hectares are in yield. The winery has been organically certified since the 2011 vintage. Due to the small vineyards, my wines have a location and (currently) no location designation.

"For me there is no fining, no filtration, no additives such as enzymes or yeast, no acidification or deacidification or other interventions, all of which would be possible according to the Austrian wine law."

Nevertheless, over the course of the year I make hundreds of decisions - because wine does not grow by itself, but has to be accompanied in its development. My wines are made in the vineyard. This is where the vines, deeply rooted in our healthy soils, lay the foundation. We harvest the ripe grapes exclusively by hand and process them gently. In the cellar I give them a correspondingly long maturation period, which is characterized by rest and not by intervention. Only then can wines be created with balance, delicacy and timeless elegance. I am convinced of that.

UPDATED CURBSIDE PICKUP INSTRUCTIONS (AUGUST 2021):

1. Place your online order, select “curbside pickup” and the date you wish to pick up your order. You will receive several emails. The first will acknowledge receipt of your order, another will let you know that your order is ready for curbside pickup.

2. When your order is ready for curbside pickup, it will be at the front of the store. IMPORTANT! Due to space constraints, orders will only be held in the front of the store for curbside pickup for 3 days. After 3 days, they will be moved back to Will Call by the Customer Service Desk inside the store.

3. When picking up, pull up in front of the store. There is no need to call when you arrive at the store – just roll down your passenger window and let us know the name on the order. We will put your order in your vehicle. There is no need to step out of your vehicle.