Nitrianska

Slovakia · DOP · Nitrianska · -1 commune(s)

Styles

Natural factors

Slope soils are of the brown-earth type with loamy texture, transitioning in the lower profile horizon into a clay horizon.
Some 15,000 years ago, winds deposited massive accumulations of spraš onto hills and uplands, forming the loess hillocks that exist today.
Vineyards are planted at elevations of 100 to 350 m a.s.l. on the south-, southeast-, and southwest-facing slopes of Tribeč and Pohronský Inovec.
The climate is very warm and dry; annual precipitation 550 mm, mean temperature during the growing season 17.3 °C, sunshine hours 2,200. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)
The skeletal subsoil of the vineyards contributes to a higher sugar-free extract in the wines; the soil imparts only a moderate mineralité.

Human factors

Benedictine monks of the Zoborský kláštor laid the foundations of professional viticulture in the 9th century; by the 18th–19th centuries the wines were being sold abroad.
Traditional white varieties: Rulandské biele/sivé, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Veltlínske zelené, Rizlingy; red: Frankovka modrá, Svätovavrinecké, Cabernet Sauvignon, Rulandské modré, Dunaj.

Product characteristics

White wines: fresh, with pronounced acidity (6.3 g/l), an optimal sugar-acid balance, a fruitier character, and an ageing potential of 2 years.
Red wines: higher extractiveness, tannins and polyphenols; with ageing they develop a velvety smoothness and fullness; acidity 5.5 g/l.

Terroir / wine link

The varied geological subsoil is carried through into the wine via reductive winemaking as a moderate mineralité and a higher sugar-free extract.

Facts drawn from the cahier's terroir-link section (Lien au terroir) by automatic interpretation — see the source.