Leithaberg is one of those magical places in wine: a grand cru ridge in Burgenland, decorated by forests, flecked with shell limestone, and home to some of Austria's most unique producers.

We’ve long known its wines, silky (mostly red) bottles with tension and a remarkably distinct salinity. Case in point: our friend Markus Altenburger makes some of the highest thread count expressions of Blaufränkisch, from anywhere.

But this year’s releases also mark the entry of a talented (and new-to-NY) producer whose rare set of white wines captures this salty, forested terroir with a completely new lens: Leo Sommer.

This fall our team had the pleasure to taste (and in one case, harvest!) with Leo. The work is unparalleled in Burgenland: white wines with uncommonly long élevage prior to release, in 75 year old heirloom barrels, and with an emphasis on minerality over fruit.

It's special stuff and yes, just in time for Karakterre – you can find both Markus and Leo at the fest!

Leithaberg DAC

Leithaberg is a long, east-facing ridge on the west bank of Neusiedler See, tracing the easternmost edge of the Alps. The ridge was once the coast of a larger ancient sea, depositing a unique shell limestone (aptly, Leitha limestone) mixed with schist. The top of the ridge is lined with a wild, biodiverse forest marked by large limestone rocks and shell fragments – including the extraordinary shell pictured above which was picked from the rocks by Leo’s daughter.

The ridge of Leithaberg; Leo and Kathrin Sommer. Photos by Leo Sommer.

Even on the northern end of Burgenland this is still a relatively warm area dominated by red wine; unlike the rest of Austria, it is uncommon to find quality Riesling and Grüner Veltliner here. Leo even noted that the only other Burgenland producer making an internationally-known Riesling at this level is Christian Tschida, on the other side of the lake.

Weingut Sommer

Leo Sommer took charge of the family winery in 2015 (founded in 1698!) and –seeking more depth from the wines – pivoted to his grandfather's more minimal methods of farming and winemaking. Along with his wife Kathrin, the Sommer family is farming 30 hectares organically and while there is some red wine in the mix, Leo is more intensely focused on salty, stony expressions of the appellation's sparse plantings of Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, Welshriesling and Sauvignon Blanc.

But his work is most unique in what he is doing in the cellar: winemaking starts with 1-2 days of maceration pre-fermentation, and finishes with very extended lees aging – the current release spans 2020-2022.

The élevage is charmingly personal, with every cuvée touched by his grandfather's massive 800-1800L heirloom acacia barrels that have been in continuous use since the 1950s-60s. Importantly, the barrels are never fully conserved between vintages, with wine racked off just a couple days before the next vintage goes in (and some basic rinsing in between).

It's an effort that goes way beyond the desire to age in old wood, born in emotional connection and cemented by natural winemaking.

Leo atop one of his grandfather's barrels. Photo by Leo Sommer.

Everything is unfined and unfiltered, for purely mineral expressions of Leithaberg terroir.

2022 Weingut Sommer 'Handwerk' Welschriesling, Burgenland, Austria $30
'22 was a careful balance of phenolics and reduction to temper the warmth of the vintage. From a plot of mixed schist, gneiss, quartz and limestone, the Welschriesling saw 48 hours maceration prior to fermentation; aged in barrel. A salty, citrusy wine with mouthwatering, reduction-driven finish.

2021 Weingut Sommer 'Handwerk' Riesling, Burgenland, Austria $30
When he first started making it, Leo was unsure how a completely dry, botrytis-free (and powerful at 14%+ ABV) Riesling – unique in the Austrian market –would succeed. But, it turned heads; Michelin-starred Taubenkobel even bought the entire barrel from '17 to pour as their house wine after visiting his cellar (you may recognize that name from our Gut Oggau writeup earlier this year). 
This cuvée is macerated overnight prior to fermentation, and partially aged in his grandfather's largest barrel, from 1959, with additional oak and concrete eggs to carry the remaining volume. '21 was a super long, classic vintage, and the wine is intensely salty, zesty, with phenolics that keep you coming back for more. A truly delicious, unique Riesling that lives up to the anecdote.

2020 Weingut Sommer 'Handwerk' Sauvignon Blanc, Burgenland, Austria $30
Oxygen is key in Leo's process for Sauvignon Blanc, to temper grassy green notes and support the grape's character without over-enhancing the fruit. He de-stems this one (the grape has particularly green stems), macerates for 48 hours and ages most of the wine in used 500L barrels. The result is unique in the world of Sauvignon Blanc: a drop of intense exotic fruit layered on an otherwise herbal and phenolically structured wine. Sehr schön.

2022 Weingut Sommer 'Halser' Grüner Veltliner, Burgenland, Austria $40
One of Leo's single vineyard bottlings, from the limestone-dominated slope where his daughter found that incredible shell fossil.
This plot closely edges the forest at the top of the hill, planted in the 1970s and one of his older sites. Grüner is known for its giant, thick-berried bunches; but here, the clusters are small and loose, with Leo's ideal for phenolic structure. De-stemmed and macerated 48-72 hours, with berries left intact for a touch of carbonic. The result is a wine that is very much about its place, not the variety; it's a grippy, vinous and deeply delicious variation of Grüner.

Our own Joachim Carels has spent two harvest seasons with Leo 💪 His impression up close:

"I have spent a fair amount of time in the vineyards, both in the spring and fall during harvest, and in the cellar. Seeing Leo’s attention to detail in action goes a long way to explaining the quality of the wines. I find them to be expressive of varietal and terroir and not about cellar trickery. Being there is a pleasure, as are the wines..."

Markus Altenburger

Burgenland is home to both experimental natural wines and Austria’s most iconic reds; though, they’re seldom made by the same people. Markus is the exception here: pushing forward organic farming and new styles of experimental wines–all while embracing the traditionally-styled wines that have made this place so special.

We check in on these every vintage; and if you really want to dig in, you can see our COVID-era interview with Markus here!

His wines are just so seriously delicious in a way that both inspires, and quenches, thirst. Essential drinking for the fall, tbh:

2023 Weingut Markus Altenburger Vom Kalk Blaufrankisch, Burgenland, Austria $23
Vom Kalk ('from chalk') is Markus' village-level Blaufränksch, capturing the uniqueness of Leithaberg soils in a charming, quenchable manner.

2019 Weingut Markus Altenburger Gritschenberg Blaufrankisch Burgenland, Austria $47
From a vineyard planted by Markus' grandfather in 1969, his most personally important site. Markus farms the vineyard by hand, organically and with no irrigation. Whole bunch macerated for a full month and aged almost two years in 500L oak. A limestone-driven, surreal bottle of Blaufränkisch.