The Leth Estate - Loess and passion for Veltliner

The vineyard of the Leth family is located in Fels am Wagram next to one of the mightiest loess formations in Europe. Along the northern shore of the Danube, between Krems and Vienna, the vineyard takes up an area of almost 45 hectares, spread across the best terrace locations of the Wagram. The unrivalled, mighty loess terrain is ideally suited for the Grüner Veltliner and Roter Veltliner wines.

The original vineyard was established in the 1960s by Franz and Barbara Leth. From a tiny, mixed agricultural enterprise with just half a hectare vineyard area, the wine gradually became its most important source of income. Through continuous acquisitions of other vineyards in the best locations, it soon became one of the region’s leading wineries.

Phase two of the rise to the group of the premium vineyards started with the entry of sons Franz and Erich Leth, who are now managing operations. Specialised training from the vineyard schools in Klosterneuburg and Krems led to significant improvements in the vineyard and the cellar.

One of the fundamental decisions for the production of grapes with the highest degree of aroma and typicality is the correct symbiosis of grape variety, soil, and local microclimate. This is also the reason why the vineyard started concentrating on Grüner and Roter Veltliner wines as well as Burgundy varieties for the calcareous loess soils. The objective of vinification is to make it possible to taste the terroir, and to produce a type of Veltliner which distinctly represents the traditional characteristics such as easy to drink, spicy-peppery, and savoury. “Veltliner squared, as a green-red coalition, so to speak, is our response to international trend varieties”. This is how Franz Leth Jr. (born in 1985 and already the third generation in the vineyard) defines the future for the family business and the region. “I cannot remember ever wanting to be anything else than a winegrower,” says Franz Leth Jr. “My mother always says I was able to say barrel, pump, and hose earlier than mummy or daddy,” explains the successful junior winemaker, who received the trophy for the best Austrian junior winemaker of the year in 2012.

Even with regard to red wines, the family is setting standards in the Wagram region. The first red wine grapes were planted at the end of the 1960s. Consequently the Leths are able to use very old vines, which is an enormous advantage when it comes to red wine. The Zweigelt is particularly valued. This typical Austrian red variety makes it possible to create a distinct, individual red wine – even on an international level – which steals the show with its fruit and charm.