Tement

  • Sudsteiermark, Styria, Austria
Weingut Tement
  • I am possibly repeating myself in saying that Armin Tement (supported by brother Stefan and his wife Monika as well as his parents Manfred and Heidi) has made Weingut Tement Austria’s number one wine producer. Although it has been one of the country’s finest wine addresses already during the 1990s and 2000s by Armin’s father Manfred, the son has pushed the limits even farther. In terms of size, sophisticated winemaking and the immense range of high-quality wines, I don’t see anybody else producing wine on this level in Austria...”

    —Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate

Armin Tement happily joined his family winery in Sudsteiermark (South Styria) in 2005. His father, Manfred Tement, had over time, firmly established Weingut Tement as a benchmark producer for Styrian Sauvignon Blanc and Morillon. Manfred was one of the founders of STK (Styrian Terroir and Klassik Wine growers association) in 1986. STK was established because there were no government regulations established at the time for making fine wine in the region. Manfred preferred Sauvignon Blanc to the most widely planted and highly productive Welschriesling. It was a big step to prioritize quality over quantity and eventually in 1991, Tement was recognized by the German magazine, Der Feinschmecker, for making the ‘world’s best Sauvignon Blanc’, essentially putting Tement and this small winegrowing region on the international wine map. 

When Armin joined in 2005, his goal was not only to make an unequivocal Styrian wine, but also a wine that expresses, in his words, ‘Tement’s own style”. With the support of the family, Armin began following organic agriculture, eventually converting all eighty hectares over the next ten years and becoming certified organic in the 2018 vintage. South Styria gets a lot of rain and incredibly, Armin, Stefan, and Manfred have converted all of their sites to biodynamic agriculture, 2022 is the first vintage certified biodynamic by both Demeter and Respekt. There are three main weather influences that are a part of the terroir here: the Adriatic Sea to the south brings storms and rain, the Pannonian Plain brings hot and dry weather, and the Alps bring cool air at night. 

Styria is one of the three major growing regions in Austria and it’s the smallest with 4,633 hectares planted. The subregion of Sudsteiermark, or South Styria, covers 2,563 hectares and it lies on the border with Slovenia. Styria is quite different from the rest of Austria as the main white varietal is neither Grüner nor Riesling, but Sauvignon Blanc! Other white varieties also do well here, notably Gelber Muskateller, Pinot Blanc, and Morillon, the local name for Chardonnay. In Sudsteiermark, the wines are categorized by quality level, with regional wines at the entry level, village wines are a step up in quality and represent the terroir of the village, and the single vineyard wines are the pinnacle. All of the wines are labeled “Sudsteiermark DAC”. Tement makes wines from three villages, Ehrenhausen, Gamlitz, and Kitzeck-Sausal. And the highest quality wines are single vineyard sites which are designated either Erste Lagen or Grosse Lagen, the equivalent of premier cru or grand cru. The most famous site in Sudsteiermark is Zieregg where both Sauvignon Blanc and Morillon are planted.

Tement is specialized in making exceptional single-vineyard wines, but the flagship is the regional Sudsteiermark Sauvignon Blanc “Kalk & Kreide”. It is a blend from fifty sites and the name describes the main terroir, limestone and clay. Like all of their wines, the grapes are harvested by hand, undergo a maceration of twelve to twenty-four hours and then fermentation happens spontaneously with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel. “Kalk & Kreide” is aged on the lees for six months before release. All of the wines are spontaneously fermented and are made without any sulfur during vinification or aging. They only get a little sulfur one month before bottling, allowing the wines to get a full expression of their site. The single-vineyard wines are fermented and aged in large neutral oak barrels for eighteen to twenty-four months and are bottled without filtration. Some wines do not get sulfur for more than 24 months, and yet the single-vineyard wines are incredibly precise and express their terroir brilliantly. 

Over the last fifteen years, the gradual changes taking place have garnered a lot of attention, but it’s worth noting that the whole family is involved. Armin works with his brother, Stefan, who joined him in 2010. His father is still working as well, although Armin officially took the reins in 2008. Armin’s wife, Monika is also involved in keeping everything running smoothly. And Armin’s mother runs the recently established B and B. All that Weingut Tement has accomplished in the last fifty years is incredibly impressive and it's made it not only one of the most important wineries in South Styria, but also in Austria. Tement has become an icon in South Styria and Austria and the accolades are well deserved. Bowler is incredibly honored to represent the Tement wines in the United States.

Bowler 2022 Trip to Austria: TEMENT
Image Producer PRODUCT Description Country / Region

DB3346-20
Organic
JS:94
Tement Ehrenhausen "Korallenkalk" Sudsteiermark Sauvignon Blanc
2020
Sauvignon Blanc
Ehrenhausen is one of the main villages where Tement has vineyards. The vineyards in Ehrenhausen are characterized by fertile coralline...
Austria

DB3346-21
Organic
WA:93
Tement Ehrenhausen "Korallenkalk" Sudsteiermark Sauvignon Blanc
2021
Sauvignon Blanc
Ehrenhausen is one of the main villages where Tement has vineyards. The vineyards in Ehrenhausen are characterized by fertile coralline...
Austria

DB3343-22
Organic
JS:91 WA:90
Tement Gelber Muskateller Sudsteiermark "Sand & Schiefer"
2022
Muskateller
The Gelber Muskateller comes from seven of Tement's best single vineyards, grown on sandy ("Sand“) and schist ("Schiefer“) soils.The grapes...
Austria

DB3343-23
Organic
Tement Gelber Muskateller Sudsteiermark "Sand & Schiefer"
2023
Muskateller
The Gelber Muskateller comes from seven of Tement's best single vineyards, grown on sandy ("Sand“) and schist ("Schiefer“) soils.The grapes...
Austria

DB4353-20
Organic
JS:94
Tement Gewürztraminer Sudsteiermark Wielitschberg Erste Lage
2020
Gewürztraminer
Finishing the “vineyard-triangle” with “Zieregg” and “Grassnitzberg”, Ried “Wielitschberg” is 410 meters above sea level with a clay and...
Austria

DB3348-20
Organic
JS:95 WA:94+
Tement Grassnitzberg 'Riff' Erste Lage Sudsteiermark Sauvignon Blanc
2020
Sauvignon Blanc
The single-vineyard Grassnitzberg was the first vineyard owned by the Tement family and was planted in the early 1950's. It's a special...
Austria

DB3348-21
Organic
Tement Grassnitzberg 'Riff' Erste Lage Sudsteiermark Sauvignon Blanc
2021
Sauvignon Blanc
The single-vineyard Grassnitzberg was the first vineyard owned by the Tement family and was planted in the early 1950's. It's a special...
Austria

DB3345-20
Organic
JS:92
Tement Morillon (Chardonnay) Sudsteiermark "Muschelkalk"
2020
Chardonnay
Morillon is the local name in Styria for Chardonnay. The "Muschelkalk" Morillon is a regional wine that comes entirely from Sudsteiermark...
Austria

DB3345-21
Organic
JS:91 WA:91
Tement Morillon (Chardonnay) Sudsteiermark "Muschelkalk"
2021
Chardonnay
Morillon is the local name in Styria for Chardonnay. The "Muschelkalk" Morillon is a regional wine that comes entirely from Sudsteiermark...
Austria

DB3344-23
Organic
Tement Sauvignon Blanc Sudsteiermark "Kalk & Kreide"
2023
Sauvignon Blanc
"Kalk & Kreide" is the flagship of the Tement winery. It's 100% Sauvignon Blanc, mainly grown on coralline limestone soil (kalk...
Austria

DB3376-20
Organic
JS:96 WA:93+ 
Tement Sauvignon Blanc Südsteiermark Sernau Konig Grosse Lage
2020
Sauvignon Blanc
Ried Sernau König, a high mountain location with a south-southwest orientation and protective forest border at 500 m above sea level and...
Austria

DB3372-19
Organic
WA:93
Tement Sulz Erste Lage Sudsteiermark Morillon (Chardonnay)
2019
Chardonnay
Ried Sulz is characterized by cool clayey marl soil in combination with a warm microclimate. The vines grow in a closed mountain basin with...
Austria

DB3372-20
Organic
JS:94 WA:93
Tement Sulz Erste Lage Sudsteiermark Morillon (Chardonnay)
2020
Chardonnay
Ried Sulz is characterized by cool clayey marl soil in combination with a warm microclimate. The vines grow in a closed mountain basin with...
Austria

DB3844-20
Organic
WA:91+ 
Tement Welschriesling Südsteiermark Ottenberg Veitlhansl
2020
Welschriesling
Ried Ottenberg “Veitlhansl” is located on a high plateau (approx. 330m above sea level) above the community of Ehrenhausen. The vines are...
Austria

DB3636-20
Organic
WA:93 
Tement Welschriesling Sudsteiermark Weinstock Alte Reben
2020
Welschriesling
The Tements make incredibly complex Welschriesling. They started bottling two single-vineyards in 2011. The Weinstock Alte Reben...
Austria

DB3374-20
Organic
Tement Zieregg Grosse Lage Parzellenkollektion Sudsteiermark
2020
Sauvignon Blanc
Two bottles each from the following parcels in Zieregg: Sieben Reihen, Karmeliten Terrassen, and Kiesner Berg.  
Austria

DB3347-20
Organic
JS:95 WA:96
Tement Zieregg Grosse Lage Sudsteiermark Morillon (Chardonnay)
2020
Chardonnay
The part of single-vineyard Zieregg where the Morillon is planted changes from limestone to marl, which has more heat storage capacity and...
Austria

DB3349-20
Organic
WA:97 JS:96
Tement Zieregg Grosse Lage Sudsteiermark Sauvignon Blanc
2020
Sauvignon Blanc
Ried Zieregg is perhaps Tement's most well-known wine. Zieregg is classified as a Grosse Lage or grand cru. Tement has 16 parcels in the...
Austria

DB4352-18
Organic
JS:97 WA:96
Tement Zieregg Grosse Lage Sudsteiermark Sauvignon Blanc "IZ" Reserve
2018
Sauvignon Blanc
The Zieregg "IZ" is a very special and limited wine. Manfred was very interested in achieving the greatest expression of origin in a bottle...
Austria

DB3377-19
Organic
JS:99 WA:96
Tement Zieregg Grosse Lage Südsteiermark "Vinothek Reserve"
2019
Sauvignon Blanc
The Vinotek Reserve is a selection from the best, ripest parcel of Zieregg. The wine is fermented and aged in their favorite 700L casks on...
Austria

DB5338-20
Organic
JS:97 WA:94
Tement Zieregg Kapelle Grosse Lage Sudsteiermark Sauvignon Blanc
2020
Sauvignon Blanc
100% Sauvignon Blanc. Water repellent heavy clay & loam on coral limestone (primordial sea 16 million years. Ried ZIEREGG KAPELLE is a...
Austria

DB5339-20
Organic
WA:96 JS:95
Tement Zieregg Kar Grosse Lage Sudsteiermark Sauvignon Blanc
2020
Sauvignon Blanc
Kår [Koar] colloquially means "kolta bar". Home vineyard of our grandma Edina and Kiesner mountain, with west-south exposure and cool...
Austria

DB3876-NV
Organic
Tement Vermouth "Alfred" Dry
NV
Sauvignon Blanc
The Tement wines make up the base wine for the Vermouth and the brandies are made by Manfred Tement's friend, Alois Gölles, who makes...

DB3875-NV
Organic
Tement Vermouth `Alfred` Rosso
NV
Zweigelt
Tement Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch make up the base wine for the Vermouth and the brandies are made by Manfred Tement's friend, Alois Gölles...
Austria

DB3345-22
Organic
Tement Morillon (Chardonnay) Sudsteiermark "Muschelkalk"
2022
Chardonnay
Morillon is the local name in Styria for Chardonnay. The "Muschelkalk" Morillon is a regional wine that comes entirely from Sudsteiermark...
Austria