2005 Riesling Loibenberg

Rainer Wess, who gained experience at Chateaux Cheval Blanc and Angelus, always had the goal of one day making his own wines in his own winery. He began by working in wine merchandising and soon found a place in sales at Lenz Moser in Rohrendorf. When his boss transferred to Robert Mondavi Europe in Germany, Wess followed. In 2000, the former director of Freie Weingartner Wachau, Fritz Miesbauer, offered him the chance to serve as co-director for Austria's largest and best wine co-operative. After several years as half of the dynamic duo running Freie Weingartner, Wess took the leap to entrepreneur and leased a small winery in Unterloiben to make wines from purchased fruit, beginning with the 2003 vintage. With his experience in the area, he knows where to find the high-quality fruit to make first-class wines from renowned sites like Loibenberg (Loiben), Kollmitz (Joching), Bruck (Spitz) and Pfaffenberg (Stein/Kremstal).