Lees Aging & Dosage

How long must Austrian Sekt age on the lees? It depends on the tier: at least nine months for Klassik, 18 months for Reserve, and 30 months for Große Reserve. Buyers of a Sekt g.U. from Burgenland can check this minimum aging period right on the label.

Release dates are regulated too. Klassik may reach the market starting October 22 of the year following harvest; Reserve from October 22 of the second year after harvest; and Große Reserve not until October 22 of the third year. That date marks the moment each new Klassik vintage can officially appear.

On the lees, what connoisseurs call autolysis takes place. The spent yeast cells slowly break down, releasing proteins and aromatic compounds into the wine. This produces notes of bread crust, nuts, and brioche that a young tank-fermented Sekt simply doesn't have. The bottles are then riddled—either by hand on a riddling rack or by machine—until the yeast sediment collects in the neck.

To disgorge, the bottle is briefly opened so the frozen yeast plug shoots out, and the wine is topped up with a dosage liqueur. For Reserve and Große Reserve, this dosage may contain no more than 12 grams of sugar per liter, keeping the Sekt brut or drier still. 'Brut' is indeed the term found on labels from Esterházy and Hillinger.

Klassik has no such sugar limit, though its label must state an alcohol content of no more than 12.5 percent by volume. Interestingly, if you spot 'sec' on a bottle from a house like Szigeti in Gols, it actually means more sugar, not less—between 17 and 32 grams per liter.