Wine & Spirits - April 2020 - 116

YEAR'S BEST AUSTRIAN WINES
palate; with air, those notes become more
grüner-like, scents of orange mingling with
herbs, all of it carried with a green-apple
verve. It's clean and energetic, with a mesmerizing balance of weightlessness and fullness that would suit sushi extremely well. §
Winemonger Imports, San Anselmo, CA
276620

95 | Bründlmayer

$93

2018 Kamptal 1 OTW Ried Lamm Grüner
Veltliner ^ Ried Lamm sits at the far eastern
edge of the Heiligenstein vineyard, a warm
spot with deep soils of chalky clay and loess.
In 2018, the Bründlmayers harvested their
parcel at the end of October, when the grapes
were very ripe yet still free of botrytis; they
then fermented the juice in 300-liter casks
(mostly Austrian oak, with some new acacia
barrels), leaving it on the fine lees until the
following summer. Right now, the oak is the
first thing that reads in the wine, a rich, deep
scent of freshly sawed wood. But give it a few
hours open, and the oak subsides, revealing
a delicious mix of smoky lees, browned butter and lemon supported by a firm mineral
base. It's a huge wine, Burgundian in its
leesy, wood-driven character, grüner in its
soil-driven texture and flavors, and absolutely delicious when taken all together. This
should age well, and make a fine match for
roast goose at a holiday meal. § Terry Theise
Selections/Skurnik Wines & Spirits, NY
275754

95 | Prager

$75

2018 Wachau Achleiten Grüner Veltliner
Smaragd ^ This is powerful grüner, sunsoaked and mineral-drenched, tense with the
chill of the gneiss slope it grows on. The flavors lean tropical, toward mango and litchi,
with an almost sticky concentration, until
grüner's green side chimes in, notes of celery,
lettuce and pepper keeping the wine firmly
in the savory realm. The clarity of the flavors
extends their reach, the way that a crystalclear music note can carry across a vast room.
It's lovely stuff, elegant despite its muscle,
and it should age well for another decade,
at least. § Craft + Estate/Winebow Imports, NY
275945

94 | Winzer Krems

$31

2018 Kremstal Ried Wachtberg Reserve
Grüner Veltliner ^ Franz Arndorfer leads
the winemaking team at this cooperative of
900 growers in Krems. Together, their holdings span some 2,500 acres, including plots
in highly respected vineyards such as Wachtberg. Translated as "lookout mountain," this
site rises to an altitude of 1,300 feet behind
the town of Krems and is a terraced hillside
of gneiss and schist covered in loess. Winzer
Krems's 2018 edition is archetypical grüner,
116

WINE & SPIRITS

APRIL 2020

herbal and lemony, with earthy notes of ginger and burdock root underneath. The wine
grows more substantial with time in the glass,
suggesting it will also grow more complex in
the cellar. § Saranty Imports, Stamford, CT
276776

93 | Forstreiter

$23

2017 Kremstal Ried Schiefer Reserve
Grüner Veltliner (Best Buy) ^ Schiefer is
an old vineyard nestled into the side of the
Schiffberg, a high outcropping with a clear
view to the ships (schiffe) sailing the Danube. The warm, protected site produced
a rich wine in 2017, a gentle robe of honey
wrapping around zesty notes of grapefruit
and herbs. It feels elegant and harmonious,
so drinkable you might miss the complexity
it holds. § Monika Caha Selections/Frederick
Wildman & Sons, NY
276472

93 | Frischengruber

$25

2018 Wachau Federspiel Steiger Grüner
Veltliner ^ George Frischengruber took over
from his father in 2010, converting the family's 25 acres to organic farming. Steiger is
one of his warmest sites, a protected slope
of loess over gneiss at the base of a hill. In
2018 it ripened its fruit to a rich succulence
of sweet pear and pineapple flavor, with a
brown-sugar richness underneath. For all
that sweetness, however, it remains balanced, with a soft yet steady citrusy acidity
driving the wine, bringing it to a clean finish. For Thai-style fried rice with pineapple. §
Schatzi Wines, NY
276632

93 | Schloss Gobelsburg

$30

2018 Kamptal Langenlois Grüner Veltliner ^ It would be hard to find a grüner veltliner that's as mouthwatering as this one,
with its salty green-olive notes. That saline
tang draws out the sweetness and zing of its
pink-grapefruit flavors, and highlights the
wine's firm mineral savor. It lasts, full-bodied and savory, with a mile-long finish. § Terry
Theise Selections/Skurnik Wines & Spirits, NY
276475

93 | Grabenwerkstatt

$102

2018 Wachau Ried Brandstatt Grüner
Veltliner Smaragd ^ Michael Linke and Franz
Hofbauer met while working at Pyramid Valley Vineyards in New Zealand, then met up
again in Austria to start this winery in 2014.
Their werkstatt, or workshop, is the Spitzer
Graben, a high, steep valley at the western
end of the Wachau, where they farm five acres
of grüner veltliner and riesling, all by hand,
under biodynamic principles. This grüner
comes from a west-facing ridge of 50-year-old
vines; they press it in whole bunches, then
let it ferment spontaneously in stainless-steel

tanks. Eight months of aging on the lees contributed to this wine's lemon-yellow hue. The
wine is so tight it needs a day to shed its fat
and smoky reduction. Then it turns elegant,
with a brothy richness and a firm mineral cut
while notes of sage and citrus keep it light. §
Winemonger Imports, San Anselmo, CA
276089

93 | Jurtschitsch

$54

93 | Rudi Pichler

$105

93 | Rudi Pichler

$36

93 | Ruttenstock

$23

2017 Kamptal Ried Käferberg Grüner
Veltliner ^ An ambitious grüner, this is oaky
up front, before the fruit takes over. From
vines more than 60 years old, the concentrated fruit was fermented with ambient
yeasts and aged in foudres with the lees. That
barrel time imbued the wine with a rich texture and some deep, smoky flavor, a contrast
to the pithy citrus and white-pepper notes.
It's firm and spicy, needing time in the cellar
to unpack. § David Bowler Wines, NY
275659
2018 Wachau Ried Achleithen Grüner
Veltliner Smaragd ^ From Achleithen's steep,
windy gneiss slopes, this feels extravagant, a
riot of fruit and floral aromas. The flavors are
just as exuberant, almost oily in their concentration, with a citrus pithiness to the extract
that gives it grip. Cool and tense, this will
benefit from aging. § Craft + Estate/Winebow
Imports, NY
275655
2018 Wachau Terrassen Grüner Veltliner Smaragd ^ While this is one of Pichler's
"basic" wines, a blend of fruit from various
parcels, it far outstrips expectations. It's
packed with flavor, from heirloom apple to
floral quince to earthy tones of roasted fennel and white pepper. Despite the ripeness,
which reads in the wine's brute strength, it's
savory and long, lasting with energy. § Craft +
Estate/Winebow Imports, NY
276203
2017 Weinviertel Ried Reipersberg
Grüner Veltliner (Best Buy) ^ Mattias Ruttenstock farms 44.5 acres around his home
base in Röschitz, including a parcel of
55-year-old vines planted in the granite soils
of the Reipersberg vineyard. In 2017, those
vines produced a veltliner that dances with
energy. It's bright and buoyant, with a hint of
spritz boosting the lemon-lime flavors; notes
of wintergreen and crunchy green beans add
to the sense of cool freshness. You might
want to buy this by the case for summertime
drinking; it will uplift all manner of salads. §
Artisanal Cellars, NY
275926
Wine & Spirits - April 2020

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