Slovenia: visiting Tement and Domaine Ciringa, where Austria and Slovenia meet.
Website: https://www.tement.at/en/
Tement is an important producer in Austrian Styria, but their cellar in Zierreg is right on the border with Slovenia. The boundary stones marking the border run through their vineyard, and as well as 105 hectares of vineyards in Austria, they have 20 hectares in Slovenia, which is bottled under the Domaine Ciringa label. Since 2019 they have had permission to make the Slovenian wines in their Austrian cellar, which makes the operation more seamless.
I visited with Armin Tement, who explained that historically this was one cru, including the Slovenian bit, and the border only came in after WWI. But it has always been a ‘green’ border with no fence, even during the communist era. People who lived here had a special passport to go to Slovenia, although those from further away, such as Graz, couldn’t do this – it was just for locals. The local Slovenians could also travel into Austria. Lots of young people left Slovenia illegally and so this side suffered.
Armin’s grandparents started the Tement winery in the late 1950s. His grandfather made the church wine for Zierreg, and his grandmother lived on the other side of the vineyard: they met and Tement was founded. Their first vineyard was in Grassnitzberg, and they made the wine and bottled it, which was unusual for the time. Armin’s father Manfred took over in 1976 when his father died suddenly, and it’s Manfred’s work that saw the vineyard area grow from just 3 hectares to its current size – it’s an impressive achievement.
It was hard selling wines when Manfred started, and they opened a Buschendschank, where you can sell your wine and food products, at the beginning of the 1980s. With his wife Heidi, Manfred travelled to France and Italy to benchmark, and their approach then shifted to making single-vineyard wines. They began buying vineyards and replanting them with the right rootstocks and varieties. Sales picked up at the end of the 1980s and they began exporting. In 1999 the current cellar was built. Armin started working at the winery in 2005, and this is when there was another big change: they began dropping yields to 5 tons/ha and doing wild ferments, and began farming organically. For such a large area in a region with quite a bit of growing season rainfall is a big challenge, one that was completed in 2015 when the entire Austrian vineyard area was certified. In 2018 they moved to biodynamics. This requires a team of 40 all year round. Armin runs two teams, and his father, who is now 65, runs another two. His brother Stefan is also involved in the winery.
Compost is important to their vineyard operations, and they make 800 tons a year. They have also made their own spreader, which I saw in action. Armin says five years application of compost is needed in a row for it to make a difference. In terms of composition, it is not more than 30% animal manure (they get horse and cow manure from neighbouring farms) and at least 70% vegetal residue and grape marc, including straw and forest/leaf material from their 50 hectares of woods. The preparation takes three years. The first year they sometimes keep grape marc separate, or they mix it with biodynamic preps, and then in summer they mix it again. After two years they bring it to the vineyards in a pile, and then a year later they apply it. He says it doesn’t affect the vegetation so fast, but this process is more effective in building humus and organic material.
When they began organics in 2005 they had 1% organic material in the soils; now they are up to 5%. ‘Not all the vineyards are perfect,’ says Armin. ‘It takes a generation to make a difference.’
They purchased the land for Ciringa in 2004, and planted the vineyards. First vintage was 2009.
The terroir? It’s 60 million years old, and was once under the Pannonian sea. The soil is sedimentary: it’s coraline limestone (from corals). The Leithaberg has this limestone too. There are parts of Sudsteiermark that weren’t under this sea so the soils are different. For 30 years people thought the terroir here was Muschelkalk – but that’s 100 million years old.
Top Selection in the UK has both
Tement Blanc de Blancs V14 Brut Nature NV Osterreicher Sekt Steiermark Grosse Reserve, Austria
12% alcohol. This was bottled in 2019 and disgorged in 2024. The base wine was five years in cask. Pinot Blanc (85%), Chardonnay 15%. Fine, energetic and subtly toasty with a real delicacy and finesse, showing pure citrus and white peach fruit. This is really elegant and fine. 93/100
Since the first vintage in 2009, the Ciringa wines have always been really balanced, says Armin.
Domaine Ciringa Fosilni Breg Sauvignon Blanc 2023 (cask sample)
A village level wine that’s a blend of all the five Ciringa vineyards, and it makes 75% of Ciringa’s production. 18 months on the lees in large oak casks. 2023 was a difficult vintage with lots of mildew during flowering so yield was reduced, although overall what was made was very good quality. This is pure, fresh and linear with a crystalline quality to the citrus fruit and some hints of elderflower and grapefruit pith. So pure with a lovely acid line. Very expressive and pure, with potential for development. 93/100
Domaine Ciringa Fosilni Breg Sauvignon Blanc 2022 Slovenia
12% alcohol. This is the vintage currently on the market. A warm vintage, but very pure with high acidity. Lovely openness to this wine, but also some taut citrus fruit and keen acidity. Linear and quite crystalline, with citrus fruit and some chalky minerality. The acidity is really focused and bright. Armin prefers 2022 over 2021 because he says the wines are very precise in 2022. 93/100
Domaine Ciringa Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2021 (cask sample)
All five Ciringa vineyards, but this is the best cask of Ciringa kept 2-3 years longer on the lees. This is so textural and tensile with nice structure to the bold citrussy fruit and a twist of waxiness. Dense, saline and mineral with real complexity. Crystalline and showing some dried herb notes, with power and high acidity. 94/100
Domaine Ciringa Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2020 Slovenia
Very refined and tensile with a strong mineral core to the vivid citrus fruit. Crystalline and quite beautiful with a slight salinity. Juicy and mineral with an amazing tension in the mouth, with a little white pepper and focused lemony acidity. Mouthwatering and energetic. 95/100
Domaine Ciringa Pruh Sauvignon Blanc 2020 Slovenia
This is the single vineyard bottling, which is their best parcel with pure limestone soils. It’s tricky for the vines when they are young, and the wines need longer – 42-66 months on the lees, depending on the vintage. Complex nose of green herbs, fennel and citrus. This is fine and expressive with a savoury green note as well as chalky minerality and bright limey characters. Tensile and distinctive with real impact. Mouthwatering, with keen acidity. 94/100
Domaine Ciringa Pruh Sauvignon Blanc 2019 Slovenia
Supple and open with some dried herbs, lime and then some crystalline lemon and grapefruit notes. Has some chalky minerality under the dense fruit, but with lovely purity and texture. There’s some power, here, too. It’s finely spiced, slightly flinty, and it’s beginning to open out. Long finish. 94/100
Domaine Ciringa Pruh Sauvignon Blanc 2018 Slovenia
This is really good: crystalline and taut with fine lemony fruit, subtle hints of wax and chalk, and beautifully integrated acidity. It’s lithe and adept, with a fine lemony focus and then some intricate detail, with dried herbs, a bit of salt, and some oyster shell. 95/100
Domaine Ciringa Pruh Sauvignon Blanc 2017 Slovenia
Wonderful focus here with bright lemony fruit and some notes of salt and dried herbs. Bold but very pure and linear with a subtle toasty note. Very pure and direct, with high acidity. This is refined and beautifully textured. 95/100
Domaine Ciringa Pruh Sauvignon Blanc 2015 Slovenia
The debut vintage of Pruh, 66 months on lees. It was very closed when it was young. The wine was initially tannic, and it was a vintage showing less fruit. After 5 years this cask was showing so well they decided to do the first Pruh. Notes of honey and candle wax on the nose, as well as some limey fruit. In the mouth this has good density of taut citrus fruit with some lively acidity and a spicy dimension. Ageing slowly and in a good direction, this is really focused and beginning to show complexity. Very fine. 95/100
Domaine Ciringa Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2011 Slovenia
36 months on lees. This was from Pruh and was the first reserve wine made from this site, but it didn’t become a Pruh. Complex and toasty with vivid citrus fruit on the nose. Slightly reductive. Has some bold limey fruit on the palate with some pithiness. Juicy, crystalline and linear with real focus and intensity. Has aged really well. Candlewax and toast on the finish with a touch of white pepper. 94/100
Tement
Tement Ried Ottenberg Veitlhansl Welschriesling 2021 Südsteiermark, Austria
This is from a plateau vineyard, on sandstone, 30 months in 500 litre casks. ‘I love Welschriesling,’ says Armin. ‘For 200 years it was the variety of our region. Fresh, pure and detailed with good acidity under herb-laced pear, apple and table grape flavours with a nice sour tang on the finish. Very linear. 93/100
Tement Ried Grassnitzberg Riff Sauvignon Blanc 2021 Südsteiermark, Austria
Planted in the 1950s, this is Tement’s coolest site with heavy clay soils over limestone. Raised in a 4000 litre Pauscha cask. Beautifully expressive fruit here with a juicy, mineral edge to the bright elderflower and lemon fruit, with some nice acidity but also some texture. Really crystalline and bright, with a mouthwatering finish, tapering nicely. 94/100
Tement Ried Zieregg Steilriegel 2021 Südsteiermark, Austria
14% alcohol. Facing southwest, this is the warmest part of Zieregg, planted to Morillon in the 1980s on a cambisol over limestone, raised in small oak. This is really expressive with a bright lemony edge to the nicely weighted white peach fruit, with some very subtle oak influence adding a fine spicy edge to the fruit. Subtly nutty with nice intensity, and a twist of sour cherry on the finish. 94/100
Tement Ried Zieregg Kapelle 2021 Südsteiermark, Austria
14% alcohol. This is Sauvignon Blanc planted in a 1.5 hectare plot on the top of the plateau at 490 m, with heavy clay over limestone: a dark, wet soil. This is beautifully expressive with crystalline pear, lime and grapefruit, with some fine herbs and a lovely acid line. So bold and fruity with nice intensity. Crystalline with brightness on the finish. 94/100
Tement Ried Zieregg Kår 2021 Südsteiermark, Austria
Pure blue marl, with calcium and magnesium in the soils, from the coolest part of the Zierreg. Sauvignon Blanc. There’s an innate concentration, structure and tension to this wine with bold crystalline citrus fruit and a stony minerality. So bold with everything in its place. Very fine and well balanced, with the fruit and acid in a really nice tension. Finishes long. 95/100
Tement Ried Zieregg XT Sauvignon Blanc 2018 (cask sample, will be bottled in May 2025)
This is concentrated and bold with dense, tensile pear, cherry and citrus fruit. Waxy and taut, this shows lovely intensity and complexity, with a nice acid line. Very fine and expressive showing good balance and potential for further development. 95/100
