From the atlas
Weingut Lackner-Tinnacher
At A Glance
Weingut Lackner-Tinnacher is a family estate in Steinbach near Gamlitz, in Austria’s Südsteiermark. Its vineyards occupy warm, protected hillsides from 320 to 550 metres, and every grape comes from estate land. Sauvignon Blanc and Gelber Muskateller lead the documented wines: altitude and cool air keep acidity lively while the protected exposures bring fruit to ripeness.
Katharina Tinnacher has led the estate since 2013, when it turned its focus to wholly organic cultivation and an individually defined collection. Hand-selected fruit, gentle pressing, spontaneous fermentation and a cellar without fining or additives put the emphasis on fruit, acidity and texture rather than cosmetic cellar character.
The Producer
The family history reaches back to 1770, making the estate one of Südsteiermark’s longstanding names. Its present work is tied to a compact practical fact: the vines, grapes and wines stay under one roof. Estate-grown Sauvignon Blanc, Gelber Muskateller, Welschriesling, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris can therefore be separated by grape and site instead of assembled from bought fruit.
Katharina Tinnacher took over in 2013. Her move toward wholly organic cultivation sits alongside a collection built bottle by bottle, from aromatic Gamlitz wines to Sauvignon Blanc with longer large-wood maturation. The result is a range where the variety is still clear, while élevage can add weight and a longer finish.
Place
Steinbach sits near Gamlitz in Südsteiermark, a hilly southern Austrian wine region where vineyard height matters. Lackner-Tinnacher’s warm, sheltered sites run from 320 to 550 metres: daylight and exposure ripen grapes, while cool air moving through the hills preserves acidity. In the glass, that combination supports yellow and tropical fruit without pushing the wines toward heaviness.
The estate is located on a ridge near Gamlitz, with steep vineyard ground around it. Sauvignon Blanc here can move from gooseberry and herbs toward citrus and riper fruit, depending on the bottle and ageing; Gelber Muskateller carries floral perfume and grapefruit zest with a dry, compact palate.
Soil And Site
The local soils are generally lime-free and well drained, formed from sands rich in quartz and mica. Drainage matters on these slopes because water does not sit around the roots; the vines work in a dry, stony medium while the elevated sites retain fresh acidity in the fruit. This is part of why the documented wines finish salty or citrus-led rather than broad.
Ried Flamberg rises from roughly 400 to 450 metres and falls steeply westward. Cool winds from the Koralpe reach the slope, adding another cooling influence to a warm site. The estate’s site vocabulary is therefore physical: exposure ripens the grapes, slope drains water, and moving air helps preserve freshness.
Story
Lackner-Tinnacher’s history is not a straight line of inherited habits. During the 1920s, Peter Dreisiebner and Franz Lackner began carefully propagating their own vine selections, a patient piece of work that put plant material at the centre of the estate long before its present collection took shape. Those selections belong to the same estate-grown logic visible today: grapes from its own vineyards are sorted before pressing and turned into separate wines.
The family name changed in 1978, then the farming changed direction in 2013 when Katharina Tinnacher took over. Organic cultivation became the focus, and the collection became more individually defined. The consequence is clearest in the contrast between a short steel-raised Muskateller and Ried Welles Sauvignon Blanc, which spends 18 months in large wood.
Vineyards And Cellar
The estate selects grapes carefully, presses them gently and ferments the selected must entirely with spontaneous fermentation. It also avoids fining and additives. These choices do not promise one fixed flavour across every bottle; they allow grape, vintage and ageing vessel to remain audible, from floral Muskateller to the savoury, longer-aged Sauvignon Blanc.
The cellar handling is especially useful when comparing the Sauvignon Blancs. Gamlitz Sauvignon Blanc 2023 spent nine months in steel and nine months in large wooden barrel, though the available record does not establish whether those were consecutive stages or separate lots. Ried Welles 2019 spent 18 months in large wood, and its honey, tobacco and caramel notes show a more developed oak-and-ageing frame around ripe fruit.
Wines
The range begins with aromatic varieties and extends into Sauvignon Blanc and white Burgundy grapes. Gamlitz Gelber Muskateller is the clearest light-footed expression: six months in steel for the documented 2023, with floral aromas, yellow tropical fruit, grapefruit zest, fresh acidity and fine tannin. Its salty finish makes it a dry table wine rather than merely a perfume-driven aperitif.
Gamlitz Sauvignon Blanc adds more cellar shape. Tangerine zest, gooseberry, herbal savouriness and white tropical fruit meet lively acidity, while the steel-and-large-wood élevage brings more body than the Muskateller. Ried Welles Sauvignon Blanc moves further toward depth: 18 months in large wood support blossom honey, tobacco, caramel, lychee, citrus and a longer finish.
In The Glass
Start with the aromatics. Gelber Muskateller smells of flowers, yellow tropical fruit and grapefruit zest; on the palate, fresh acidity and fine tannin pull the yellow fruit into a taut, compact shape before a salty finish. Steel maturation keeps the fruit and citrus line direct.
The Sauvignon Blancs show a wider register. Gamlitz combines cool herbal notes, gooseberry and tangerine zest with white tropical fruit and lively acidity. Ried Welles is richer in aroma—blossom honey, tobacco and caramel around ripe gooseberry—then carries juicy exotic fruit, lychee and citrus across a fuller, longer palate. Large wood and extended ageing add weight and savoury detail without removing the wine’s citrus lift.
A Bottle To Understand It
Choose Gamlitz Gelber Muskateller. The documented 2023 is a dry varietal wine matured for six months in steel, so it brings the estate’s elevated sites and low-intervention cellar into focus without the added frame of long wood ageing. Expect flowers, yellow tropical fruit and grapefruit zest, followed by fresh acidity, fine tannin, compact body and a salty finish. It is the most immediate way into Lackner-Tinnacher’s combination of ripe fruit, dry structure and estate-grown clarity.
Anecdote
In 1978, Wilma Lackner married Fritz Tinnacher. After their wedding, the family estate adopted the double name Lackner Tinnacher, bringing both names onto the winery and eventually onto its bottles. The estate had already been in family ownership since 1770, and its earlier generations had left other practical marks: in the 1920s, Peter Dreisiebner and Franz Lackner began carefully propagating their own vine selections. Wilma and Fritz’s marriage did not create a new winery; it changed the name by which a much older family estate would be known. The joined surname remains on the label as a record of that 1978 family event.
Final Word
For dry Südsteiermark whites with floral or herbal perfume, lively acidity and a firm finish, Lackner-Tinnacher offers a useful progression: steel-raised Gelber Muskateller first, Gamlitz Sauvignon Blanc for added body, then Ried Welles when large wood and longer ageing are part of the appeal.
Sources
- https://www.tinnacher.at/ueber-uns/
- https://www.tinnacher.at/weingut/
- https://www.falstaff.com/en/wineries/weingut-lackner-tinnacher
- https://www.bourgetimports.com/project/lackner-tinnacher/
- https://www.falstaff.com/en/wines/weingut-lackner-tinnacher-2019-sauvignon-blanc-suedsteiermark-dac-ried-welles-gstk
- https://www.falstaff.com/en/wines/weingut-lackner-tinnacher-2023-gelber-muskateller-suedsteiermark-dac-gamlitz
- https://www.falstaff.com/en/wines/weingut-lackner-tinnacher-2023-sauvignon-blanc-suedsteiermark-dac-gamlitz
- https://www.tinnacher.at/die-weinkollektion-2026/