Wine & Spirits - Fall 2022 - 50

Top 100 Wineries
AUSTRIA | STYRIA
Hannes Sabathi
Showing off southern Styria's high, sun-drenched slopes in firm,
savory sauvignon blanc.
HANNES SABATHI
" When i StArted, i WAnted to mAke the
greatest sauvignon blanc, and I started with
one-hundred percent new barrels, " said
Hannes Sabathi. That was in 2005, when
he took over his family's winery, turning it
from just one part of a mixed-agriculture
farm to the focus of the business. Today,
his approach is entirely different: He uses
only 1,000-liter neutral oak barrels, and
ambient-yeast ferments; all the wines spend
extended time on the lees as well, without
any stirring; the only addition he makes is
a small amount of sulfur before bottling.
The focus is now on the vineyard, with sauvignon
blanc the vehicle to show it off. His
sauvignon blanc wines were in fact the greatest
ones we tasted out of Styria this year.
Also worth checking out: MeinSatz, a screwcapped
blend of muskateller, pinot blanc,
sauvignon blanc, scheurebe and welschriesling.
It's his version of a Gemischter Satz,
light and lemony, ready for refreshment anytime.
-T.Q.T.
FOUNDED:
1860
WINEMAKER/
VITICULTURIST:
Hannes Sabathi
OWNERS:
The Sabathi family
ACRES OWNED:
184
FARMING PRACTICES:
Sustainable
(Nachhaltig Austria)
ANNUAL PRODUCTION:
33,000 cases
ESTATE GROWN:
100%
IMPORTER:
Bliss Wine Imports,
Napa, CA
50
2017 Südsteiermark Ried Kranachberg
Reserve Sauvignon Blanc ($123, 96 points)
This is a reserve selection from the Kranachberg
vineyard, a steep parcel of gravel and calcareous
soils that sits at nearly 1,650 feet in elevation in
southern Styria. The wine feels like it's absorbed
the region's abundant sun in its warm, mouthfilling
golden-apple fruit while balancing it with
breezy acidity. It's toasty and leesy, too, but what
makes the biggest impression is the way the fruit
flavors reverberate off the chalky mineral base,
clear and fresh, made more savory and substantial
by the hints of caramel maturity flirting
around the edges.
2019 Südsteiermark Ried Kranachberg Sauvignon
Blanc ($73, 95 points) This feels like
fresh spring air, crisp and cool, with gentle wildflower
scents. The bracing acidity enlivens the
grassy, herbal fruit, and draws out a pleasantly
peppery edge. Underneath it all, a firm, rooty
earthiness gives the wine a sense of breadth
and staying power. It's firm and elegant, a sauvignon
blanc with personality.
2020 Südsteiermark Gamlitz Sauvignon
Blanc ($43, 92 points) Sauvignon's herbal
notes comes through here in notes of green tea
and lime, the wine umami-rich and savory. It
feels quiet, restrained, with hints of lemon blossoms
and salty spice that add grace and suggest
a pairing with fluke crudo.
WINE & SPIR IT S
BUYING GUIDE 2021
FOUNDED:
1171
WINEMAKER/
VITICULTURIST:
Michael Moosbrugger
OWNER:
Zwettl Monastery
ACRES OWNED:
119
FARMING PRACTICES:
Sustainable
(Nachhaltig Austria)
ANNUAL PRODUCTION:
20,000 cases
ESTATE GROWN:
100%
IMPORTER:
Skurnik Wines, NY
AUSTRIA | KAMPTAL
Schloss Gobelsburg
Michael Moosbrugger crafts wines for the long haul,
but packs in plenty of immediate pleasure.
MICHAEL
MOOSBRUGGER
A former hotelier from SAlzburg,
Michael Moosbrugger has been tending
the vineyards at Schloss Gobelsburg for 27
years. It's a relatively short spell given the
Cistercian winery's 851-year history, yet in
that time, he's made the wines as impressive
as the estate itself, a massive Renaissance
building atop a high hill overlooking the
Kamp River. The hardest part of the job, he
says, has been figuring out how to grow with
the times while also farming for the next 851
years. His answer has been to focus on the
vineyards that have sustained the estate for
so long, making tweaks to bring the expression
of the sites into greater clarity: He
added a green harvest to the vineyard protocol
and a sorting table to the winery; and
he has returned to local wood for barrels, in
which he does long, slow, ambient-yeast fermentations.
The resulting wines have both
clarity and the warm resonance of 851 years
of care. -T.Q.T.
2019 Kamptal Ried Lamm 1 ÖTW Grüner
Veltliner ($74, 96 points) Moosbrugger pulls
this wine from a parcel on the southeast slope
of Heiligenstein, where the loess is mixed with
moisture-retaining clay. The vines seem to have
appreciated the soil in the hot, dry 2019 vintage,
if the joyousness of this wine is any reflection.
Raised in large casks of oak from local forests,
this feels rich and expansive, a seamless blend
of flowers, fruit, earth and spice with an almost
meaty density.
2019 Kamptal Ried Gaisberg 1 ÖTW Riesling
($53, 95 points) This wine feels alive, dancing
with fresh, vibrant acidity. The warmth of the vintage
is there in the juicy ripeness of the golden
fruit, but it feels just-squeezed, sweet, bitter and
acidic all at once, and then lasts for minutes.
There's a hint of spritz that adds to the energizing
feel, and an invigorating saline minerality.
Schlosskellerei Gobelsburg 2020 Kamptal
Riesling ($21, 92 points) Pulled from a variety
of parcels of different elevations and soil types
throughout the Kamptal, this estate-grown wine
offers a gentle mouthful of juicy peach and pear
flavor, with enough structure and freshness in
the acidity to keep it lively and bring it to a clean
finish. It's the sort of white that would be good at
any time, whether by the glass at a wine bar or
with a vegetable curry at home.
Wine & Spirits - Fall 2022

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