Austria
Leithaberg
About Leithaberg
Vintages
11 · 2015–2025
Outstanding Leithaberg Vintages
The best recent vintages rated excellent or exceptional.
Red
What Leithaberg produces
Red
Blaufränkisch from limestone-and-schist slopes is the DAC flagship — structured, mineral, and age-worthy. Also Pinot Noir and Sankt Laurent.
White
Welschriesling, Weißburgunder, Chardonnay, and Grüner Veltliner — fresh, mineral whites under the Leithaberg DAC.
Sweet
Ruster Ausbruch — botrytised sweet wines from the town of Rust, a tradition dating to the 17th century.
Similar styles
Lands in the same glass.
What it tastes like
Body
Full
Acidity
Bright
Tannin
Firm
Oak
Some oak
Ripeness
Ripe
Concentration
Medium
Reds
Full-bodied and bright, with firm tannin and some oak; red fruit, black fruit and spice.
red fruit · black fruit · spicy · floral · graphite
Body
Medium
Acidity
Fresh
Oak
A touch of oak
Ripeness
Fresh
Concentration
Medium
Whites
Medium-bodied and fresh; orchard fruit, stone fruit and citrus.
apple and pear · stone fruit · citrus · honeyed · floral
Cork's estimate.
Climate
Pannonian: hot, dry summers and cold winters, with the lake moderating extremes and reflecting light onto the slopes. Autumn fog over the lake encourages noble rot, supporting the long Ausbruch tradition in Rust.
Terroir
Limestone (Leithakalk) and crystalline schist on the higher slopes; loess, sand, and gravel near the lake. The schist-and-limestone combination is what defines the Leithaberg DAC for Blaufränkisch.
