2020 Velich ‘Darscho’ Chardonnay

The first of two truly unique & complelling Chardonnays from Heinz. From 20-40 year old vines, the fruit comes from various vineyards around the Seewinkel. ‘Darsho’ is effectively the ‘village’ wine and is named after one of the 40 salt lakes found on Lake Neuisedl.

Heinz’s Chardonnays do not follow fashion, rather they walk to the beat of their own drum. They are calm and confident wines, and much like all the wines from the estate, they have distinct salty spiciness.

Similar to the famous ‘Tiglat’, the Darscho’ Chardonnay is spontenously fermented in old oak and spends almost 2 years on full lees in order to build structure and shape.

There is no battonage thus the wine remains tightly coiled and fresh. Again, there is an inner power here but thanks to Heinz’s ability to balance richness with freshness, the wine is dynamic, energetic & invigorating and is geniuenly world class example of ‘modern’ chardonnay. – Velich

Smoky and dusty nose with a wide spectrum of candied citrus fruit aromas. Rich and concentrated with impressive textural complexity. Serious chalky minerality underlines all this beautifully. Still a bit closed. From organically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but best from 2024. 94 points. Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com Oct 2023