Tement, Ehrenhausen "Korallenkalk" Sudsteiermark Sauvignon Blanc, 2023 [Pre-Arrival ETA 7/15]

This is Sauvignon Blanc grown on an ancient coral reef, and you can taste it. "Korallenkalk" means coral limestone, the fossilized reef bedrock beneath these Ehrenhausen vineyards, and it drives the wine's salty, crushed-stone character. Tement is one of Austria's great Sauvignon houses, and this is their restrained, terroir-driven side, worlds away from anything loud or grassy. Aged patiently in large oak and on its lees, it trades pungency for depth and salinity. If you want to taste what a place tastes like, start with a wine grown on a prehistoric sea.