# Chardonnay 'Sand & Schotter' Bio (2024)

- **Producer:** Weingut Daniel Jaunegg
- **Colour:** white
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Chardonnay
- **Region:** Steiermark, Austria
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 12.0%
- **Average price:** €20
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 10–12 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** apple, apricot, stone fruit, lemon, butter, cream, bread, almond, walnut

## About this wine

Weingut Daniel Jaunegg, located in the steep hills of Eichberg in Southern Styria, Austria, is managed by the quality-obsessed second-generation winemaker Daniel Jaunegg and his partner Jasmin. Transitioning to biodynamic farming, the estate is renowned for its uncompromising low-intervention philosophy. Daniel famously rejects the fast-paced commercial wine market, choosing instead to give his wines extensive time on the lees before bottling. The 'Sand & Schotter' (Sand & Gravel) bottling represents a puristic, cool-climate expression of Chardonnay (locally known as Morillon) grown on steep, high-altitude calcareous slopes. Classified as an Österreichischer Landwein due to its unfiltered and unfined nature, this micro-production wine showcases the pristine, mineral-driven terroir of Southern Styria.

## Interesting facts

- Only 732 bottles of this micro-lot 2024 vintage were produced worldwide, making it an extremely rare allocation.
- The estate uses Shropshire sheep to graze and naturally maintain the grass cover in their steep, high-altitude vineyards.
- Winemaker Daniel Jaunegg refuses to bottle early, aging all local wines for at least 15 months on the full lees.

## Food pairing

This bone-dry, high-acid Chardonnay thrives alongside dishes that balance rich textures with clean, fresh elements. The wine's creamy mid-palate, derived from 15 months of lees contact, mirrors the weight of butter-sauced seafood or roasted nuts, while its vibrant, saline acidity cuts through fat and cleanses the palate.

## Wine making process

The grapes are 100% hand-harvested in early September from steep, south-facing vineyards. In the cellar, the grapes undergo spontaneous fermentation using only indigenous yeasts, followed by a complete spontaneous malolactic fermentation. The wine is aged for approximately 15 months on the full lees ('Vollhefe') in a combination of used oak casks (ranging from 300L to 1500L) and stainless steel tanks. To preserve its natural energy and structural integrity, the wine is bottled completely unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulfur addition (approximately 15 mg/l total sulfites) and sealed with a natural organic cork.