Riesling

In the press over the years riesling has experienced ‘renaissances’ too numerous to mention, yet still it remains an uneasy wine for mainstream consumers. Its very flexibility seems to be part of the issue, or at least understanding what style is in the bottle, given a paucity of labelling information as to style.

Partly to address these various guises of riesling, in 2007 the International Riesling Foundation (IRF) was inaugurated in the USA. Alongside a strong USA contingent, directors are from across the riesling globe including Judy Finn of Neudorf Vineyards in New Zealand, Jeffrey Grosset of Grosset Wines in Australia, Johannes Hirsch of Weingut Hirsch in Austria and Christian Witte of Schloss Johannisberg in Germany.

Their first mission has been to suggest an international system to label riesling according to residual sugar levels. The IRF have developed a taste profile to help consumers get a handle on what style of wine might be inside the bottle. It has four broad categories: dry, medium-dry, medium-sweet and sweet.

Their research reported that the only major barrier to riesling trial by non-drinkers remains the perception that riesling is only a sweet wine.  Yes, there are sweet riesling wines (which, it has to be said, are among the best sweet wines in the world), but there are also loads of dry riesling.  Australia’s Clare Valley is a leading proponent of the bone dry style. And the many German dry rieslings too often stay on the domestic market, not being shared further afield.

IRF taste scale

In the absence of a unified way of describing riesling style to consumer, the IRF would like producers to use their taste profile on the labels of bottles to help purchasers get a feel for what’s in the bottle. The need for some sort of simple help on the label has long been recognised, and various individuals also have their own initiatives, but so far nothing has gained more widespread traction.  Zind Humbrecht in Alsace, for example, developed the ‘indice’, a number ranking 1 to 5 labelled on the wine to indicate wines from bone dry to medium sweet.  Also in Alsace, Paul Zinck uses his own ranking system.

A simple ranking system is just that – simple.  But one of the special attributes of riesling is how it balances fruit and acidity using sweetness so that the flavour profile, texture and impact is optimised. 

Riesling is a naturally a high acid grape variety, and acidity is especially retained when it’s grown in cool climates such as its homeland of Germany.  Wines can be balanced and dry, especially when grown in the slightly warmer (lower acidity) Pfalz, or continuing south across the border into France’s Alsace. But with ripe fruit AND high acidity, a little of the sugars are needed to balance the wine, which still tastes dry because of the palate sensation of acidity.

Clare Valley

Such difficulties of identifying style are not restricted to the old world.  From the label it is notoriously difficult to know a dry New Zealand riesling from an aromatic fruity one.  It makes choosing riesling in a restaurant virtually impossible. Australia also has no recommended system for labelling according to style.

In terms of making riesling, technical data are tightly defined in Germany. Dry is defined as wines with up to 4g/l of residual sugar (all straightforward and fine, barely, if at all, noticeable sweetness to taste). Dry is also defined as a wine with 2g/l more sugar than acidity, up to a maximum of 9g/l of sugar, which means a wine in the dry category could have 7g/l acidity and 9g/l sugar, or it could have 6g/l acidity and 8g/l sugar (only 2g/l more sugar than acidity). It is very technical, and the wines do pretty much taste dry, because of the effect of the acidity.

Mosel riesling

The aim is always to create as exquisite a balance as possible between fruit and acidity and sweetness. 

Given that riesling is such an appreciated variety by the cognoscenti, it is no surprise that at least three different competitions exist to judge this variety alone:
Best of Riesling. (International Riesling Competition). Started in 2000. Held in Germany, with strong German focus. 
Canberra International Riesling Challenge.  Started in 2000. Strong new world focus, especially Australia.
Riesling du Monde.  Started in 1998. Held in France. Strong old world focus. 

Results are listed each year, so finding medal winners is pretty easy.  Finding whether you can buy them in your location may be trickier.

Another initiative is Riesling Rendezvous, a venture of Château Ste Michelle, of Washington state in the USA, and Dr. Loosen of the Mosel in Germany. It started in 2007, with combined trade and consumer seminars and tastings from around the riesling world. 

In addition to lists of medal-winning wines, the official wine sites for riesling-producing countries and regions have plenty of information about riesling.

In Germany, the world’s leading grower of riesling by far, the Deutsches Weininstitut / German Wine Institute  is the German wine industry’s marketing organization responsible for the generic promotion of the quality and sales of German wine domestically and abroad.  In the UK its guise is found as Wines of Germany.  In the USA there is a different Wines of Germany website, which sponsors Destination Riesling, a site for USA consumers to learn about European riesling.

The other significant riesling – inclusive generic websites are Wines of Alsace, and the Austrian Wine Marketing Board.

And, whilst no longer being maintained, The Riesling Report, has a back catalogue of information, including a piece I wrote in the Sept/Oct 2002 issue.

Please let me know of any authoritative riesling-focused organisations and competitions around the world that I’ve missed, and I’ll add them to the list.

Riesling in Australia, Ken Helm and Trish Burgess

Subtitled “The history, the regions, the legends, and the producers”, and that is exactly how the book is organised in its treatise on arguably the finest grape variety for still white wine.

The first chapters are quite technical, thus, for example, the book usefully opens by setting the record straight on the true riesling moniker. Given that riesling used to be one of the most renowned and revered grape varieties in the then wine-making world, (i.e. Europe), it’s probably no surprise that riesling became a generic term to describe any white wine (a misnomer possibly now assumed by chardonnay).

Despite the confusing nomenclature, the authors begin by attempting to unravel the origins of riesling in Australia, region by region, searching historical documents for the earliest references to both viticulture in general and the variety in particular, before going on to outline the status quo of riesling in 21^st century Australia, which country has the second-largest plantings of this variety in the world (a long way behind Germany).

Chapters on riesling viticulture by Louisa Rose, the chief winemaker at Yalumba, and on riesling flavour by Dr. Leigh Francis, a sensory research manager at the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI), help put riesling in perspective. The variety’s minority stake in Australian viticulture is highlighted at just 2% of the national crush, as is riesling’s need for cool temperatures to preserve the variety’s delicate aromatics. Francis easily embraces the monoterpenes and norisoprenoids of riesling’s delicate aromatics like old friends in an excellent chapter accessibly analysing riesling flavour.

The not so technical part of the book looks at the influence of nineteen Australian riesling luminaries including the Barrys, Jeffrey Grosset, Andrew Hood, and Andrew Pirie. From the individual stories these pioneers provide, some sort of framework for the Australian riesling paradigm can be pieced together, both growing and making. Passion and single-mindedness become evident as no small ingredients.

Given riesling’s “ability to reflect the region which retaining true varietal expression” (Louisa Rose), not so much attention was given to identifying and explaining regional variation in Australia for the grape variety, which, as riesling is grown in almost all of Australia’s GIs (geographical indications), must be considerable. Those GIs cover a broad range of climates.  

However the book does finish by listing some 550 producers who make riesling in Australia, which would enable a leisurely personal voyage of style and region discovery to be made.

A combination of ripeness with retained, relatively high acidity are cited as the defining parameters of the 2009 in the main riesling regions of Mosel, Rheingau, Nahe, Pfalz and the Rheinhessen. This was defined as a year of long ripening and good structure. But volumes are down across the board.

Some have said 2009 is as good as 2007. By comparison 2008 was not so warm, on average. There is enough ripeness in 2008 but the acidity is crispier and more pronounced. The wines are perhaps less concentrated than the 2009s.

Rheingau vineyards

Weingut Josef Leitz is located in Rüdesheim, at the western end of the Rheingau. It is run by Johannes Leitz, who took over the 28 hectare family property in 1985, when he was just 21.  He grows only riesling.  

Rebuilding a reputation takes time, and Johannes said “I found my real way in 2000 after 15 years. Since 2000, we really do a lot in the vineyard. We cut the bottom of bunches, we de-leaf. Then we press very gently.”

The Rheingau is a small region, accounting for just 3% of Germany’s vineyard area. It runs for 30km in an east-west direction on the south-facing right bank of the river Rhine as it flows between Mainz and Rüdesheim. At Rüdesheim, which eyeballs Bingen on the other bank, the river hits the Hünsruck mountains and turns north. 

Also at Rüdesheim is the Germania monument, which commemorates the re-establishment of the German empire after the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71. It overlooks the river from the top of the slope at 320m above sea level, just below the forest above, which protects the vineyards from the cold chills of the night.

Leitz put Rheingau riesling into context against those from other German regions, saying “In Hessen and Pfalz they are richer and heavier. The Mosel is colder, the Devonian slate bringing a special minerality.  The Rheingau is in-between: it has softer acidity than the Mosel, it is lighter than Hessen and Pfalz. People say yellow fruit aromas, peaches, is typical of Rheingau riesling.”

Read here for a review of the 2009 rieslings from Weingut Hermann Dönnhoff in the Nahe.

Read here for a review of the 2009 rieslings from JL Wolf in the Pfalz.

Read here for a review of the 2009 rieslings from Weingut Gunderloch in Rheinhessen.

Read here for a review of the 2009 rieslings from Dr. Loosen in Mosel.

Tasting notes, in situ, April 2010

2009 Eins-Zwei-Dry, Riesling Qualitätswein trocken
12%. Dry, lemongrass, easy to drink, approachable with a bit of layering. Good fruit flavours that are long in the mouth. Good.

2009 Rudesheimer, Riesling Qualitätswein trocken
12%. All fruit is from Berg Rottland,
Lime zest, quite full body, rich and opulent, big flavours, citrus and white stone fruit. 

2009 Rüdesheimer Bischofsberg Riesling spätlese trocken
12%. 8g/l RS. >8g/l TA. Mostly sandy loam, clay and quartzite
Lime; taut. Steely, upright, racy, good intensity of fruit and focus  

2009 Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck, Riesling Qualitâtswein trocken
On quartzite, which “gives it spiciness and saltiness”
Limegrass, hint of sweet fruit on attack which gives nice balance, slight tingle on the tongue, lovely freshness and depth, with whirlpool-prickle in the core. Long finish.

2009 Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland, Riesling Trocken, alte reben
12.5%. 60 years old.  Leitz said “We can our best wines alte reben.”
Lifted apple blossom, piercing rapier lime attack, steely, almost herbal note, followed up by rich ripe soft fruits with big mouth-feel. Finishes very clean and fresh. Good. Very long.

2009 Rüdesheimer Kirchenpfad Riesling Kabinett feinherb
11%  18g/l RS.  ‘Church path’.  Sandy loam and clay. Leitz “the perfect summer wine.”
Lifted, floral, elegant and light, good simple juicy intensity, decent length. Perception of taste is pretty dry

2009 Rudesheimer Riesling Kabinett
9%. 45g/l RS   
Fresh, fruity, citrus. Everything is in its place but I find this slightly less appealing.

2009 Rüdesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Riesling Spatlese
8.5%. 65g/l RS.  ‘Cross of Mary Magdalene’. Sandy loam and clay. 
Sweet, lime cordial, linden leaf, plush, easy to drink, finishing fresh and clean.

2009 Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling spätlese
7.5%. 106g/l RS.
Lime leaf, sweet, honeyed, crystalline citrus fruits, with layers, and purity. Precision acidity, and focus. Delightful, with razor sharp clarity. Layered and surreptitiously complex. Very long.

2009 Rüdesheimer Drachenstein Riesling Eiswein
8%. 11g/l TA. 200 Oechsle. Picked in December at -14°C.  Previous eiswein vintage was 2001.  
Dense sweetness, barley sugar, spicy complexitiy. Almost so dense it’s savoury, in big and powerful style. Lifted fresh peach and nectarine fruits.

The UK agents, ABS Wine Agencies, flew me, and a group of UK importers, to Germany to taste the 2009s from the producers they represent. 

A combination of ripeness with retained, relatively high acidity are cited as the defining parameters of the 2009 in the main riesling regions of Mosel, Rheingau, Nahe, Pfalz and the Rheinhessen. This was defined as a year of long ripening and good structure. But volumes are down across the board.

Some have said 2009 is as good as 2007. By comparison 2008 was not so warm, on average. There is enough ripeness in 2008 but the acidity is crispier and more pronounced. The wines are perhaps less concentrated than the 2009s.

Weingut Dr. Loosen is located at Bernkastel in the Mosel, and is run by Ernst Loosen, who took over the reins of this family property in 1987.

While properties away from the less extreme climate of the Mosel can make a mix of dry styles and fruitier styles, in the Mosel this is difficult to achieve due to the late ripening of fruit. This means that 80 to 85% of Loosen’s wines are in the fruitier styles, with the fine, taut balance proffered by such an extreme climate.

The Mosel accounts for less than 10% of the country’s vineyard plantings, but riesling is by far the most important grape in the valley, with 60% of Mosel vineyards being planted to it. Loosen gives riesling even more focus – 98% of the property is planted to this grape variety, across his 18 hectares.

Read here for a review of the wines from Weingut Hermann Dönnhoff in the Nahe.

Read here for a review of the wines from JL Wolf in the Pfalz.

Read here for a review of the wines from Weingut Gunderloch in Rheinhessen.

Tasting notes, in situ, April 2010

2009 Dr. Loosen RedSlate Riesling trocken
12.5%, ~8g/l RS. A new wine from both contracted and estate fruit, sitting above Dr. L in the portfolio.
Lemon-lime fruitiness on nose and palate, pure and fresh, good intensity of flavour, tasting pretty dry. Refreshing and nicely balanced. Good to drink, with lime zest finish.

2009 Dr. L Riesling Qualitätswein
8.5%, 40g/l RS, 7.9 g/l TA.
It tastes more like 20g/l residual sugar, but if it only had that much sugar, the alcohol would be much higher. Lemony and spritzy, with honeyed attack of crisp apple. Fresh with pristine acidity, and a decent finish.

2009 Bernkasterler Lay Riesling Kabinett
7.5%, 54g/l RS. Blue and weathered grey slate mix. ‘Lay’ is an old word for slate.
Lime and pithy, sweet limey attack, dense and plush, long finish. Rather more-ish, as the light alcohol is seductive. Delightful, delicious aperitif. Purity and integrity at its best.

2009 Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett
7.5%. 58g/l RS. Red slate
Lime pith and apple blossom, floral, orange peel, crunchy sweetness, some emerging complexity. Sweet tropical palate, attractive density of flavour, with unfurling layers and layered finish. Feels more serious than Lay. Good.

2009 Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spätlese
7.5%, .70g/l RS, 8,4g/l TA. Red slate
Apricot and star anise, with spicy sweetness and ripe tropical fruit. Almost medium bodied in a flavour-concentration and extract sort of way. Intense, with a precise fruity balance.

2009 Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling spätlese
68g/l RS. 8.2 g/l TA, Weathered red volcanic soil
Firestone and star anise. Complex, spicy, with exotic fruit. Pristine and fleshy. Rich and quite lush with intense and concentrated flavours and a long, long finish.

2009 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese
88g/l RS. Blue Devonian slate
Peach, apricot, honeyed, very sweet attack. A tiny bit of botrytis giving a savoury aromatic lift to the nose, and concentration to the palate. Palate is tight, tropical, very fruity – pure fruits. Full flavour and long.

2009 Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese
90g/l RS
Aromatic bitumen spice from 5-10% of botrytis. Pristine and focused with lime and sweet tropical fruit. Massive flavour with fairy-like lightness, and an exquisite balance. Pure, with enormous depth and concentration. Lovely.

2009 Erdener Prälat Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel
100-105g/l RS. Prälat is the heart of the Treppchen vineyard.
With about 60% botrytis, this is concentrated and closed. Sweet-spice, and firestone, with cinnamon-aromatised apple and lime, and notes of bruised apple compote. All the structure and concentration in place for big flavours to blossom. Really very nice.

The UK agents, ABS Wine Agencies, flew me, and a group of UK importers, to Germany to taste the 2009s from the producers they represent.

 A combination of ripeness with retained, relatively high acidity are cited as the defining parameters of the 2009 in the main riesling regions of Mosel, Rheingau, Nahe, Pfalz and the Rheinhessen. This was defined as a year of long ripening and good structure. But volumes are down across the board.

 Some have said 2009 is as good as 2007. By comparison 2008 was not so warm, on average.  There is enough ripeness in 2008 but the acidity is crispier and more pronounced. The wines are perhaps less concentrated than the 2009s.

Fritz Hasselbach in the Rothenberg

Weingut Gunderloch is located at Nackenheim in the Rheinhessen and is run by Fritz and Agnes Hasselbach.   

Rheinhessen is the biggest German wine region, accounting for a quarter of the country’s vineyard, and it is the small, six kilometre by ~1 km Rheinterrasse, an east and south-east facing slope on the left bank of the river Rhine, some 10 km south of Mainz, where some of the best quality is found.

Nackenheimer Rothenberg, made up of red slate, is one of the prime vineyards on the Rheinterrasse, and Gunderloch own more than three quarters of this named vineyard, 9.5ha out of the property’s total vineyard acreage of 14 hectares.    

Other top vineyards on the Hessen Rheintarrasse include Pettenthal, Hipping, Ölberg and Orbel.

Riesling is one of a couple of handfuls of grape varieties grown in Rheinhessen, accounting for about 15% of the region’s production.  Yet at Gundlerloch, riesling is something of a specialty, accounting for 80% of production, with silvaner, pinot gris, pinot blanc and traminer among the rest.  

Fritz and Agnes Hasselbach have been running the family winery since 1986, and their children Kathrin, Johannes and Stefanie are also part of the team.

For dry wines, three levels are made at this estate:  the estate dry, the village dry, and grosses gewächs.  Fruity wines follow the normal designations.

In 2009, Gunderloch made no beerenauslese or trockenbeerenauslese because wild boars and birds ate all the grapes, despite the vines have protective netting over them.  The family lost a hectare of grapes. 

Rothenberg vineyard

Fritz is experimenting with malolactic fermentation on riesling, which is usually unheard of for this variety.  He said “malo gives more weight in the taste, which is a secret of Hessen”, adding “in the past the balance was from residual sugar, but in the new style the balance is with malo.”  Exacting control is essential though as malo can change pure fruity flavours into more creamy, less aromatic notes. He said they have strict temperature control, and they “check every day. As soon as we get a creamy note, we chill to kill the yeast and the malolactic bacteria.”

Read here for a review of the 2009 rieslings from Weingut Hermann Dönnhoff in the Nahe.

Read here for a review of the 2009 rieslings from JL Wolf in the Pfalz.

Tasting notes, in situ, April 2010

2009 Estate Riesling dry
12.5%. 8 g/l RS, 8g/l TA. A blend of 5 different vineyards sites, all with red slate.
Lemon grass, fresh, lifted, racy acidity, warmth of lemon citrus at finish.

2009 Nierstein Village Riesling dry
12.5%. 6g/l RS.   
Lemon grass, and gunsmoke, perceptibly off dry attack, with softness and richness in the mid palate added by small proportion of malolactic fermentation. Good length.

2009 Nackenheim Village Riesling dry,  
12.5%. Rothenberg single vineyard.
Lemongrass, citrus, melon, supple mid palate offered by small proportion of malolactic again. Nice limey element to acidity. Approachable yet young, with plenty to unfurl.

2009 Gunderloch Jean Baptiste Riesling Kabinett
11%.  24g/l RS. 7.5g/l TA. Usually a mix of Rothenberg and Pettenthal vineyards
Lemon citrus, off dry fruity attack, with near-dry palate perception. Apple, nice balance, with good fruit purity.  Refreshing, elegant, easily drinkable.

2009 Nackenheim Rothenberg Riesling Spatlese
9.5%. 90 g/l RS. 7.5g/l TA. Without botrytis, it is the Gunderloch philosophy.
Limey, sweet attack of fresh apricot and white peach. This comes back to racy, sharp balancing acidity.  Lush, intense, explosive citrus and early tropical fruits. Mouth-watering freshness, but with some intensity of svelte power. Long finish.

2009 Nackenheim Rothenberg Riesling Auslese
7.5%.  110g/l RS. 100% botrytis wine.
Citrus, intense, lime, explosive, pure, sweet, Massive flavours, pure and long.

2009 Nackenheim Rothenberg Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel
8%. 130-140g/l RS. Fritz said this is always in beerenauslese style, but an easy-drinking style.
Spicy aromatics, mango and yellow tropical, full and honeyed, elegant with well-toned power and presence.   Elegant and too easy to drink.   

The UK agents, ABS Wine Agencies, flew me, and a group of UK importers, to Germany to taste the 2009s from the producers they represent.

A combination of ripeness with retained, relatively high acidity are cited as the defining parameters of the 2009 in the main riesling regions of Mosel, Rheingau, Nahe, Pfalz and the Rheinhessen. This was defined as a year of long ripening and good structure. But volumes are down across the board.

Some have said 2009 is as good as 2007. By comparison 2008 was not so warm, on average.  There is enough ripeness in 2008 but the acidity is crispier and more pronounced. The wines are perhaps less concentrated than the 2009s.

JL Wolf estate

The Pfalz accounts for nearly a quarter of Germany’s total vineyard area. Coincidentally the region has a quarter of the country’s riesling plantings.

Most of the vineyards are in the foothills of the north-south orientated Haardt mountains, where they are more protected from the winds. These mountains are a geological continuation of the Vosges mountains which lie to the south, home to France’s Alsace vineyards.

At the JL Wolf estate, in Wachenheim, which is the property of Ernie Loosen, owner of the Mosel’s Dr. Loosen, an ‘entry’ range of wines is made under the varietal ‘Villa Wolf’ label. The fruit for these wines comes from growers contracted to the estate.

Above this range lie the estate wines under the label ‘JL Wolf’, which are labelled, in ascending order, (a) village name only, (b), village name plus vineyard name, and (c) just the vineyard name. This is JL Wolf’s personal following of a Burgundian nomenclature.  The back label contains all the legally-required German labelling.

The estate produces more than riesling, for example, pinot noir, pinot blanc and pinot gris, but just the riesling notes are below.

Read here for a review of the wines from Weingut Hermann Dönnhoff in the Nahe.

Read here for a review of the 2009 rieslings from Gunderloch in Rheinhessen.

Tasting notes, in situ, April 2010

2009 Villa Wolf Riesling dry
12.5%, 8g/l RS, ~6.8TA
Apple puree, green apple attack, tight, with a hint of lime zest. Refreshing, with good intensity, and some density of length.  

2009 JL Wolf Wachenheimer Riesling trocken
12.5%, 8g/l RS. Labelled with village name only
Firestone and apricots on the nose, some honeyed complexity; quite intense palate attack. Warm hint of aromatic spice, with attractive note of richness. Dense and flavoursome.  

2009 JL Wolf Wachenheimer Belz Riesling Spatlese trocken
8g/l RS.  Belz is a monopole of JL Wolf. Labelled with village and vineyard name.
Apple and honey nose, spritz. Savoury note to attack, rich.

2009 JL Wolf Forster Pechstein Riesling (spatlese trocken)
Labelled just with vineyard name – Pechstein – to denote single vineyard wine.
12.5 to 13%, 8g/l RS. Black basalt soil.
Apricot, firestone, yellow peach, steeliness, sweet-savoury dichotomy.  Intense, with big concentration, demands attention in the mouth. Delicious, with long, exotic-spice finish.   

The UK agents, ABS Wine Agencies, flew me, and a group of UK importers, to Germany to taste the 2009s from the producers they represent.

A combination of ripeness with retained, relatively high acidity are cited as the defining parameters of the 2009 in the main riesling regions of Mosel, Rheingau, Nahe, Pfalz and the Rheinhessen. This was defined as a year of long ripening and good structure. But volumes are down across the board.

Some have said 2009 is as good as 2007. By comparison 2008 was not so warm, on average.  There is enough ripeness in 2008 but the acidity is crispier and more pronounced. The wines are perhaps less concentrated than the 2009s.

See future posts for Riesling 2009 tasting notes from Gunderloch, Leitz, Dr. Loosen and JL Wolf.  

Weingut Hermann Dönnhoff is located in Oberhausen, in the Nahe.  

Hermannshöhle vineyard

The Nahe accounts for about 4% of the German vineyard area.  It is south of the Mosel, south of the Hunsrück mountains, which protect the Nahe valley from the winds.

Owner Helmut Dönnhoff described his style as “elegant, not too opulent, in between the Mosel and the Rheingau.  Mosel has higher acidity, ours are a bit riper with lower acidity.”

The estate is 120m ASL, and grapes can be grown up to about 350m, above which, Dönnhoff said, they don’t ripen.

About 65% of Dönnhoff’s 12.5 hectare production is for dry wine, the rest is in the Germanic fruity styles.

Riesling accounts for 80% of his production; the rest is pinot blanc and pinot gris.

Read here for a review of the 2009 rieslings from JL Wolf in the Pfalz.

Read here for a review of the 2009 rieslings from Gunderloch in Rheinhessen.

Tasting notes, in situ, April 2010.

Riesling trocken 2009 
(dry style) 11.5% 6.8g/l RS.
Citrus zest, perceptibly dry, with a hint of integral, defining taut/salty edge. Fresh, balanced weight and good length.

Tonschiefer Riesling Trocken 2009  
(dry style) 12%.  6-7g/l RS.
Spicy with good volume of tropical fruit and citrus pith. Nice freshness-richness balance. Pure, intense, balanced.

2009 Schlossböckelheimer Felsenberg
(dry style) 12.5%. 7g/l RS. Volcanic, porphyry – hard stone that keeps heat.
Slate, steel, pristine savouriness. Grapefruit zest, tight, linear. Serious, a bit intellectual. Complex and layered. Taut. Very good. Pristine and delicious.

Dellchen 2009 Riesling Grosses Gewächs
(dry style) 13%, 7.5% RS.  Slate, with volcanic soils
Allspice, star anise, apricot, intense, big, big wine. Rich and powerful with exquisite balance and intensity.

Felsenberg Felsenturmchen 2009 Riesling Grosses Gewächs
(dry style) 13%. volcanic soil Felsenturmchen meaning little tower
Firestone, tropical. Savoury, aromatic tar, lush and plush, strong, dry-rich, big and elegant at same time. Excellent.

Hermannshöhle 2009 Riesling Grosses Gewächs
(dry style) Rich, fat, tropical, open fruit attack, savoury firestone comes through on palate. Opulent and taut at the same time. Lush and lean, linear. Tightly wound. Aromatic tar. Long. Spectacular.

Riesling 2009
(fruity style) 11%. ~19 g/l RS.
Citrus, grapefruit nose, fresh and simply pure, with nervy acidity and good flavour depth; very easy to drink e.g. sitting in the garden of an early evening.  Pure pleasure.

Kreuznacher Krötenpfuhl 2009, Riesling Kabinett
(fruity style) 10%. 25-30g/l RS, ~8g/l TA. Quartz. Pebbles, meaning ‘pond frog’
White peach and nectarine, fresh, light and with nice intensity of fresh fruit, charming rather than complex at the moment, needs a bit of time to flesh up and complex.

Oberhäuser Leistenberg 2009, Riesling Kabinett
(fruity style) 9%. 35-40 g/l RS. 8g/l+ TA.~£20 slate soil. Comes from same site as Tonschieffer.  Leisten: dialect for slate. Slate hill.
Citrus and lime, sweet-lime attack, apple blossom, pure, high on easy deliciousness. Open and fruity, lots of flavour.  

Norheimer Kirschheck 2009, Riesling spätlese
(fruity style) 8.5%. ~60g/l RS.  ‘cherry hedge’. Slate soil.
Firestone and cinnamon-spiced apricots, some fullness of body with sweet fruit compote concentration. Precision acidity. Fruity lushness. Long.  Seductive sweetness and elegance.

Felsenberg 2009, Riesling spätlese
(fruity style) A selection from the GG Felsenturmchen. Volcanic soil. 
No analysis yet: probably about 8.5%, and about 70g/l RS.
Cask sample tasting: sweet apricot compote, honeyed, precision acidity. Elegant, light-intense.  Allspice silhouette. Very good. Long. Exquisite balance.

Oberhäuser Brücke 2009, Riesling spätlese
(fruity style) 8%  Slate under alluvial sediments, pebbles, sandstone.
‘Aromatic tar’ note; savoury firestone, apricot purée, dense, intense; big flavour expansion in the mouth. Stony, savoury notes diminish the perception of sweetness, lush, mouth-watering. Focused and expansive. Cracking balance. Opulent and fleshy, nervosity of acidity. Just lovely.

Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle 2009, Riesling spatlese
(fruity style) 8.5%
Lime and pink grapefruit nose, steely nose, and apricot.  Lush, almost tropical, with refined acid core and laser-precision, layers evolve in the mouth, sweet/steel balance. Very good.

Oberhauser Brucke 2009. riesling auslese goldkapsel
(fruity style) Cask sample tasting: lime and hint of mushroom-spice, complexing and structuring botrytis. Overtly sweet now, with defining acidity and freshness and balance.

Niederhäuser hermannshöhle 2009 riesling auslese goldkapsel
(fruity style) Apricot puree nose, aromatic spice, firestone, intense, dense, appears less overtly sweet, and with immense extract. Enormous wine, refreshing, allspice and star anise. Honeyed, and lush. Really very nice indeed.

The UK agents, ABS Wine Agencies, flew me, and a group of UK importers, to Germany to taste the 2009s from the producers they represent.

Sources: various national organisations, most recent data available

Riesling in the Mosel

The riesling renaissance has been repeatedly raised in trade and consumer press but appears never really to materialise among mainstream consumers. So riesling appreciation remains the best open secret among oenophiles. With less than 1% of the global vineyard planted to riesling, it’s unlikely ever to be much more than a specialist wine.

Part of the challenge has been thought to be the diversity of dryness in the wine, from bone dry to lusciously sweet. But chardonnay can come like this too.

Possibly more of the challenge is that riesling is very site specific, it doesn’t necessarily always need the poshest accommodation, but it is quite temperature-sensitive, not too keen on heating or air-con, it prefers pretty stony beds. Whereas chardonnay will bunk down almost anywhere and make a decent fist of it. 

The panel
Bob Campbell MW, journalist, educator, photographer, New Zealand
Monika Christmann, head of oenology and wine technology, Geisenheim Research Centre
Roman Horvath MW, managing director, Domäne Wachau, Austria
Rowald Hepp, managing director, Schloss Vollrads, Germany
Willi Klinger, managing director, Austrian Wine Marketing Bureau
Arne Ronold MW, journalist, publisher, Norway
Josef Schuller MW, chairman, Institute of Masters of Wine

Hepp explained the difficulty for the early riesling diaspora from its Germanic roots, saying “emigrants from Germany took riesling with them when they left in the crisis of the 1920s. They were a bit disappointed with the styles in California and Australia – it was not the style they were used to.”

But he added, after decreasing riesling acreage in the 1970s, riesling is in expansionist mode again, albeit modestly.

Approximate global riesling plantings 

Sources: various national organisations, most recent data available

Wachau vineyards, Austria

Christmann took up the site specificity theme, suggesting riesling is adapted to both single vineyard and multi-vineyard blend, saying “you can produce great wines from single vineyards and sometimes you can produce better wines by blending. We have super vineyards, but not all are so super that we can say that these produce the best wines every year.  You can choose to make a blend coming from very good base wines.”

Should the style of wine come from the vineyard or the winery? Christmann said “as a producer it’s your baby you have to sell. What style do you want to achieve?” Before adding “riesling is one of the most sensitive varieties when it comes to processing techniques to avoid uptake of polyphenols.” So only great care in the winery will express whatever potential might be building in the vineyard.

Residual sugar was inevitably an issue.  A stylistic choice definitely, but can absence of residual sugar mask varietal character?  Hepp thought so, speaking of his two wines (see below) “the first one has more terroir and mineral expression, the [spatlese] has more varietal expression.” 

Noble rot in dry wines is another masker of varietal definition.  But Christmann said “there are different answers to [whether] it is important to have some botrytis in riesling. In our experiments, most people wanted to have up to 20% botrytis in the wines.”  To which Ronold countered “to my mind that could be so for interim rieslings, those not showing much terroir character. But for top rieslings from specific terroirs, then botrytis is a no-no, you want to keep what is unique with your vineyard.”  

Rowald said “maybe botrytis can add complexity but not necessarily terroir expression. Botrytis makes it more difficult to keep single vineyard expression. Botrytis makes wines a bit more even.”  But, he added “for noble sweet wines botrytis is a must. But we talk more of concentration than terroir.”    

Nelson, New Zealand

With typical new world succinctness Campbell said “botrytis obscures terroir.  At high levels it will also obscure varietal character.”

Campbell took up the new world side of the globetrotting discussion, pointing to New Zealand’s early attempts with the variety, saying “riesling was introduced into New Zealand in the early 1800s but it died out because of phylloxera. It was re-introduced in the 1970s, when it moved to South Island, where it’s more suited.”    

“In South Island the cool climate equals high acidity. The best wines carry a little residual sugar to build up the tension between sweetness and fine acidity, which for me is what fine riesling is all about. But consumers have not embraced sweet riesling with as much vigour as producers would like.”

In Australia, Campbell said “riesling was Australia’s most widely planted white variety until the early 1990s, when chardonnay took over.” He added plantings were more driven by climate, so focusing on the cooler areas of Tasmania, and the Great Southern Area in Western Australia. But it is Clare Valley in South Australia that has made the biggest name for itself, producing usually bone dry, edgy, angular, tight rieslings with more than a savoury nod to location. 

Back in Europe, and more than 80% of Austria’s riesling is concentrated in the Lower Danube areas of Wachau, Kamptal, Kremstal and Traisental. There are two broad soil types in this area – loess and primary rock (internal link). Horvath explained “riesling from loess soil is more creamy, more textured, more expressive in youth. Riesling from primary rock gives more leaner styles.”

In the wines selected for the seminar a mix of origin and varietal definition could be identified, although the wines were not shown blind. Which suggests the experience of riesling as an independent traveller rang truest, seeking out those special places, and often staying off the beaten track. And remaining true to itself. Horvath said “riesling is a globetrotter, but not as a mass tourist. Riesling adapts to local culture, it experiences the local specialities. In this sense riesling is a globetrotter. But with some experience you can tell the origin, so riesling is both a globetrotter and a terroir wine.”

Tasting notes. Vienna, May 2010, and comments from the panel

Schloss Vollrads Erstes Gewachs Riesling 2008, Rheingau, Germany
Hepp:  “from our best vineyards sites, over 8 months on fine lees. Represents dry, mineral, flinty style.  2008 had masculine acidity; low pH level.”  
Honeyed, apple and white pear, intense nose and palate attack, smooth and big expansion of flavour in the mouth. Concentrated palate, citrus, honeysuckle aromatics, with stony notes mid palate. Layers of flavour emerging in a sophisticated style. Long

Schloss Vollrads Riesling spatlese 2009, Rheingau, Germany
Hepp: “the other face of riesling. I love to show both faces. Late harvest, picked 2.5 to 3 weeks after the first one. This style also very traditional, it was the classic riesling a hundres years ago. Sweet style intensifies the fruit flavours of riesling.” 
Honey and a bit steely. Just 8%. Honeyed, lush bruised apple, quince, tropical notes. Very pure, focused fruit, with lush, attractive balance. Sweet and finishes very fresh. Delicious and delicately balanced.

Egon Müller, Riesling Spatlese 2008, Mosel, Germany  
Apple, steely, aromatic, citrus, peachy, zingy.  Precise, intense, racy, light and densely intense, textured. An ‘other worldly’ experience, ethereal lightness of being with massive flavour for a ‘light’ wine. Really don’t feel the sweetness, acidity holds it all together beautifully with a fresh finish.

FA/FH Geisenheim Classic ‘von Lade’ Riesling 2009, Rheingau, Germany
Christmann: “Produced at the research centre. A blend of the best vineyards we have, with the right time of picking, and gentle processing.”
Peachy, steely and tropical, medium body, savoury type of acidity, firm backbone, fully dry, hint herbal twist to mid palate. Strong and muscular r style.  Long.

Grosset, Polish Hill Riesling 2009, Clare Valley
13%, dry. 460M ASL, sandy soil
Galvanised steel, edgy and taut. Savoury and edgy, linear and long. Not so much primary fruit flavour here. All in that taut, gritty-steel spectrum.

Villa Maria, Taylors Riesling 2005, Marlborough
Single vineyard in cooler Awatere Valley. 8.5%, 43g/l RS. pH 2.8.
Bruised apple, sweet attack, racy and edgy, angular acid, citrus, attractive layers of fruit. Lacks the sophistication of the German example above (probably also lacks the cost). Attractive, but not over exciting.

Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Rangen 2007, Alsace
Ronold: “Most southerly and highest altitude (350 to 450m) grand cru in Alsace, with southern exposure.”  13.5%.  2g/l RS (unusually dry for a Zind-Humbrecht wine.) Volcanic sediments.
Big, smoky, stony dry savoury nose, with peaches and nectarine fruit following in the wake of steely upright flavours. Linear, medium-bodied, with remarkable strength and muscularity. Not so much overt primary fruit, more in the stony, steely, aromatic smoky spectrum. 

Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile 2004, Alsace
Grapes from two grand crus Gaisberg and Osterberg, 12.8%, 8.2g/l TA
More overtly primary fruit nose, peach, apricot, citrus, more lifted and perfumed, floral. Intense palate attack, but gentle, somehow, despite ripe, rich acidity core. Fruit flesh adorns the backbone with some succulence, but dry. Smooth, sophisticated, intellectual. Precision-focus to be envied.

Brandl Riesling Heiligenstein 2000, Kamptal
12.7%, 1.5g/l RS. Primary rock covered by volcanic sediments.
Peach, tropical, with stony substance alongside. Medium weight, with dense volume of fruit/savoury combo.  Structured and  muscular. Very little age showing, freshness in savoury lines, precise. Remarkable youth.

Franz Proidl Riesling von Urgestein Senftenberger Ehrenfels 2007, Niederosterreich
13.5%, 2.8 g/ RS. Steep terraces, primary rock.
Aromatic peachy, overt primary fruitiness to the fore, smooth and succulent, with layers of aromatic spice and peachy tropical fruit. Steeliness alongside.  Nice balance and intensity. Ripeness of fruit. Lovely layers of fruit/savoury. Long finish

Domäne Wachau Riesling Achleiten 2009, Wachau
Horvath: “Achleiten is about minerality. Not so much about primary fruit. Smoky aromas, toastiness, fleshy flavours balanced by firm acidity.” 
Fresh, juicy, immediately appealing but so young; and fruity. Density and complexity is portended by rich concentration of dramatic fruit.

Domäne Wachau Riesling Achtleiten 1999, Wachau
Horvath: “this is not about peachy, it’s about smoky mineral character.”
Just a hint of development of colour to pale straw. Hints of petrol, with mango purée coming quickly to the fore. Rich, almost dry baked fruit, some crystallised fruit, youthful and expressive, aged notes notwithstanding. Intense flavour, layers of complexity.

But what about using a small proportion of ‘good botrytis’ in dry white wines, notably riesling but not restricted to this variety? So-called ‘good botrytis’ because it is the same mould as that which causes grey rot/bunch rot/bad botrytis, where infected grapes must be thrown away because they give a rotten fruit taste to wine.

Bunch with healthy grapes and botrytis-affected grapes

There are two schools of thought on this issue, which Roman Horvath MW, the managing director of Domäne Wachau outlined for the Wachau region of Austria, saying some producers, such as “Franz Hirtzberger work with botrytis. I call them the masters of botrytis. There has to be a very exact picking time, almost with half-day precision. And with even more picking passes through the vineyard. Others, such as Rudi Pichler, focus on elegance, minerals, purity and precision. We are more on the side of Rudi Pichler and Alzinger.”

Indeed for the 2009 vintage Mathias Hirtzberger of Weingut Franz Hirtzberger said “usually we use 5 to 10% botrytis. These are wines for 10 years’ ageing, and our smaragds will age for much more. The wines have a lot of alcohol, acid and sugar as we aim to harvest the grapes very ripe.  It’s always about the taste.”

Such use of ‘good’ or ‘dry’ botrytis usually results in wines of higher alcohol, 14 to 14.5%, rather than 13 to 13.5%. The wines are more concentrated, with greater weight, though not necessarily with more residual sweetness to them, as this is likely to have been fermented out. Lucas Pichler, the winemaker at Weingut F.X. Pichler explained further, saying with good botrytis you get “more deepness, more extract, especially for riesling. It’s not so important for grüner veltliner because you lose a bit of the pepperiness of grüner veltliner.”

It’s this potential masking effect that deters other producers. Leo Alzinger of Weingut Alzinger explained “we use dry botrytis as little as possible. The wines are more focused without botrytis. They are more reflective of their terroir. Wines start to age after one year with botrytis. And with more botrytis there is more alcohol, plus aromas which cover the terroir.” 

Cleanliness of fruit and precision of focus are important drivers for ‘no-botrytis’ proponents. Also in the Wachau, Peter Veyder-Malberg of Weingut Veyder-Malberg said “botrytis destroys the character of the grapes and the character of vineyard.  With riesling, when I see bunches start with botrytis, I cut the whole bunch and make the wine, leaving other [completely healthy] bunches on the vine. Three weeks later I can harvest sound bunches. But it means I harvest quite early.”  He added “I tell my workers to select each berry which they would choose not to eat and throw it away.” 

Wachau vineyards close to river Danube

The ‘to B or not to B’ question appears most pertinent for the Wachau, at the western, coolest extreme of Danubian viticulture in Austria, where the vineyards are close to the river and botrytis is more likely to creep into the vines at the end of the growing season.  Horvath said “botrytis is part of the microclimate here [Wachau] in October. You can’t avoid it.”

Almost next door to the Wachau, in Kamptal, where the vineyards are a little bit further from the mist-creating river, said Willi Bründlmayer, of Weingut Bründlmayer, “Kamptal has a tradition to work without botrytis.”  Though he’s not dogmatic on the question, adding “In 2001 we harvested with botrytis because it was a high acid year and the botrytis softened it out to balance the wine. Normally it’s not our style [to use botrytis]. I like straightforward, clean grapes.”

Bründlmayer also believes botrytis masks terroir effects saying “It should taste like riesling, like Heiligenstein, like the vintage.  Botrytis gives complexity, makes you a winner in a blind tasting, but if you want to drink the wines, then you need no botrytis.” 

Fellow Kamptal vintner Weingut Hiedler has moved away from this winemaking style. Maria Angeles Castellanos-Hiedler said “we used to use dry botrytis. In the last five years we’ve refined the winemaking and now try to have as little as possible. We like to have clear wines.  The botrytis means the wine is not ‘quiet’, it tastes very spicy. We want clear and clean tastes.”

This theme was picked up by Johannes Hirsch of Weingut Hirsch, who said “botrytis lays over the terroir, it hides typicity”, adding “petrol notes come earlier with botrytis.”

The subject came up at a May 2010 Global Riesling tasting in Vienna, hosted by the Institute of Masters of Wine. Rowald Hepp, managing director of Schloss Vollrads in the Rheingau region of Germany, said “botrytis can add complexity in dry riesling, but makes it more difficult to keep single vineyard expression. Terroir and botrytis is a tricky pairing. We avoid it in our dry wines.”

Ultimately the use of dry botrytis is just one winemaking option with a resulting style outcome. If the complexity imparted by botrytis adds layers of interest, dimension and texture to a wine that the drinker enjoys, it doesn’t matter if terroir or even varietal character is obscured. Some would argue terroir obscures varietal character. It depends on what the winemaker wants to achieve.

If the wine is tasty, job done, with or without botrytis.

Vineyards above Ürzig

The road is scheduled to emerge from a tunnel through the mountainside of the Ürziger Würzgarten vineyards, cross the river Mosel on a 160-metre high bridge. It will then continue above the vineyards of Zeltingen-Rachtig, Wehlen, Graach and Bernkastel.

A long-running, and lengthening campaign to stop the bridge is still in the ascendency, even though work on the spur road has started and politicians seem determined to push ahead. Big hitters in the UK press, such as Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson (on her site search: ‘Mosel bridge’) long ago hefted the weight of their columns against those of the proposed bridge.

Local Ürzig resident, sound artist and campaigner, Sarah Washington, emphasised it is not (yet) too late to halt the works, even though the official deadline to petition has now passed. Via the website www.stop-the-bridge.org, she still urges people to sign the petition.

She said she is also devising postcards which people can use to petition the authorities, possibly hard copy and ‘e’-copy versions. She said the more people who add their individual weight to the campaign may yet force politicians to reach a point where they will have to reconsider.

Catch up on the latest via vanguard campaigner and Mosel producer Dr. Loosen’s blog, including how to sign the petition on www.stop-the-bridge-org.

Dr. Loosen neck collar

In the UK, Dr. Loosen has garnered the support of many supermarkets and merchants which list his wines. Look out for neck collars outlining the issue and garnering support for the anti-bridge campaign on bottles of Dr L Riesling 2009 from Asda, Booths, Majestic, Oddbins and Sainsbury’s.

The neck collars are also on bottles of Villa Loosen Riesling 2009 from Avery’s, Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Kabinett from Majestic, Graacher Himmelreich Kabinett 2009 from Sainsbury’s, Ernst Loosen Schieferberg Riesling 2009 from the Sunday Times Wine Club, and Ürziger Würzgarten Kabinett from Waitrose.

Producers are also concerned for the long term situation of their vineyards. The natural water distribution will be modified by the changing structure of land use. Rainfall-collecting forests above the vineyards are already being removed for the construction works. It is not known how deforestation combined with a concreting of the surface will affect run-off and water-absorption and retention. Keeping enough spring rainfall in the soil to last throughout the growing season is fundamental in a region that is not allowed to irrigate. Already the frequency of dry years has increased in the last decade.

Such a bridge may well have been useful in the cold war era of its original concept and design, in order to bring USA troops rapidly from their military bases in the west to potentially threatened eastern borders. But now the four-lane bridge will cross the valley and immediately link to the current road, a simple two-lane (one each way) road. Washington said that to construct the dual-carriageway any further eastwards would require a new proposal plus a generation of planning. In today’s geopolitical climate neither the bridge nor any onward infrastructure are thought to be necessary.

Austrian vineyards

Whilst quality was evidently high, volumes in the adjoining Danube regions of Wachau, Kremstal, Kamptal and Traisenthal were down about 30% in the two key varietals – grüner veltliner  and riesling.  Indeed Mathias Hirtzberger of Weingut Franz Hirtzberger said “we had only 40% of our normal riesling harvest for Singerriedel [vineyard site], and we’ve sold out”.

Roman Horvath MW, the managing director of Domäne Wachau said “2009 was a great vintage in Wachau and the neighbouring regions. We had strong rainfall at end of September which caused a ‘bad’ botrytis infection. But as the most western wine region, the grapes here were not as soft as elsewhere, so we did not have such a big loss. We had more time to work in the vineyard.”

Also in the Wachau, Leo Alzinger of Weingut Alzinger added “2009 was not easy because of the rainfall in mid-September. Both good and bad botrytis started, and we had to select out the good from the bad.”  This took some effort. Where they normally harvest 60kg/hour, in 2009 Alzinger harvested at a rate of just 5kg/hour. But Alzinger said “it’s very good quality.” As you’d hope after all that effort.

Horvath added “it’s a very balanced year, and more concentrated than 2008. If people worked well in vineyard, there is a pure, precise fruit expression.”  This theme was picked up by Maria Angeles Castellanos-Hiedler of Weingut Hiedler in the Kamptal who said the vintage showed great “purity and juiciness of fruit. There was no botrytis in 2009. There was lots of sunlight, giving pure fruits and fine minerality.”

Wachau vineyards

That rain at flowering was an issue, reducing the crop. Hiedler continued “the wind and rain began at the end of May, beginning of June. It was bad for quantity, but good for quality because [the poor flower fertilisation] resulted in loose bunches which then concentrated their fruit flavours.”

Fellow Kamptal vintner Johannes Hirsch of Weingut Hirsch picked up the rainy theme, but added “2009 finished with super healthy fruit in mid-October, which is normal. We never had so perfect riesling, and the grüner veltliners are fine and minerally. We didn’t expect this after the rainiest June in 200 years.”

On the opposite side of the Danube from Kamptal, Markus Huber of Weingut Huber in Traisental said “2009 was one of the best vintages in the last ten years. A cool growing season with low yields resulted in concentrated grapes. Physiological ripeness was quite late and there is enough acidity to balance the richness.”  

Kamptal vineyards

A little further east along the Danube, heading towards Vienna lies Wagram, less completely focused on grüner veltliner  and riesling, but still accounting for a worthy amount of production. Here there was less rainfall in September than further west, but the June rain was still “something like a flood” according to Franz Leth, of Weingut Leth, when “160mm of rain fell in three days.  Hailstorms in the beginning of August, followed by three weeks of very hot weather made 2009 a vintage of weather extremes.”

But, Leth added “we were luckier than western areas of Danube, because we had little rainfall in September, so it was not such hard work selecting in the vineyard.” But volumes are still down around 30% in Wagram. 

Despite the periodic rains, Willhelm Hamm, director of the wine estate, Weingut Stift Klosterneuburg, also in Wagram was optimistic, saying “from mid July to end Oct we had most beautiful weather you could imagine. We had a long vegetative period and therefore long hang time, and we didn’t have extremely high temperatures above 32 to 33°C. “

The June rains may have reduced the flowering and thus the yield across the regions of the river Danube, but such  a yield reduction this early in the season means top producers don’t have to do so much green harvesting in later months. The looser bunches that resulted were nicely aerated, and fruit flavours subsequently concentrated. Growers spoke of vineyard work and very high quality wines.

Brief tasting highlights of the 2009 vintage. May 2010, at Vievinum in Vienna.

General, for both grüner veltliner and riesling at this level.

• All these are excellent wines, with unjustly brief notes.
• Just a couple from each producer
• Silkiness and persistence of texture throughout;
• Elegance and lightness of deportment allied with sometimes amazing depth and density.

Wachau

Weingut Alzinger, Grüner Veltliner Mühlpoint Smaragd, 2009, Wachau
Spicy with fresh/dry combo. Has weight and definition, long, strong, elegant stony palate. purity and spiciness.

Weingut Alzinger, Riesling Loibenberg Smaragd, 2009, Wachau
Apricot and citrus density, fresh, aromatic spices in a lush/fresh combo. Laser precision.

Weingut Franz Hirtzberger, Grüner Veltliner  Rotes Tor Smaragd, 2009, Wachau
Cream/spice combo, great weight and flavour intensity. Long

Weingut Franz Hirtzberger,  Riesling Hochrain Smaragd, 2009, Wachau
Crisp citrus fruit, apricot, precision with youthful energy and weight.

Weingut F. X Pichler, Grüner Veltliner  Loibnerberg Smaragd 2009, Wachau
Fresh-cream, soft pepperiness, fresh and integrated

Weingut F. X Pichler, Riesling Loibnerberg Smaragd 2009, Wachau
Immediate lushness, purity and definition, density and length.

Weingut Veyder-Malberg, Grüner Veltliner  Hochrain 2009, Wachau
Citrus cream-spice. Palate opulence, depth, purity and length.   

Weingut Veyder-Malberg, Riesling Buschenberg 2009, Wachau
Peach and apricot, lush-dry combo, dense flavour with stunning depth and early complexity.

Domäne Wachau, Grüner Veltliner Kaiserberg Federspiel 2009, Wachau
(federspiel = lighter style). Citrus pith then white pepper, clean and defined. Light and refreshing, with attractive substance.

Domäne Wachau, Riesling Achleiten Smaragd, 2009, Wachau
Stone fruits and stoniness, tight/dry combo with fruit density, focus, deportment and long finish.

Kamptal

Weingut Willi Bründlmayer, Grüner Veltliner  Käferberg 2009, Kamptal Reserve DAC, Erste Lage 
(reserve style) Fresh, creamy, density, rich and dry with soft spice pepper.

Weingut Willi Bründlmayer, Riesling Heiligenstein 2009, Kamptal Reserve DAC, Erste Lage 
(reserve style) Tropical and citrus, juicy and blossoming, dry/lush combo.

Weingut Hiedler, Grüner Veltliner Thal 2009, Kamptal Reserve DAC, Erste Lage
(reserve style) Soft, spicy lift, then fresh with a fat-dry combo; layered pepper and pith, dense and long.

Weingut Hiedler, Riesling Gaisberg 2009, Kamptal Reserve DAC, Erste Lage
(reserve style) Limey pith, citrus weight and purity. Focus and balance. juicy and immediately delicious.

Weingut Hirsch, Riesling Zöbing 2009, Kamptal DAC
(Lighter style) Lighter style. lime juiciness, energetic in its vibrant youth.

Weingut Hirsch, Riesling Zöbinger Heiligenstein 2009, Kamptal DAC, Erste Lage
(reserve style) Citrus pith, aromatic tropical spices, density and volume in the mouth.

Weingut Schloss Gobelsburg, Grüner Veltliner Gobelsburger 2009, Kamptal DAC
(lighter style). Fresh, light, lemon-cream; intense floral and pepper.

Weingut Schloss Gobelsburg, Riesling Heiligenstein 2009, Kamptal Reserve DAC, Erste Lage
(reserve style). Piquant aromatic spice, tropical fruit, dense and perky prickle on tongue; deft and complex.

Traisental

Weingut Markus Huber, Grüner Veltliner Obere Steigen 2009, Traisental DAC
(lighter style). light, peppery, citrus pith, attractive pepperiness with nice bit of fat.

Weingut Markus Huber, Riesling Berg 2009, Traisental Reserve DAC, Erste Lage
(reserve style) Rich, tropical/fresh combo, lime notes, round and long.

Church of our Lady, Worms

Liken the situation to Cheddar cheese, which started life in a small village called Cheddar in Somerset, but became so popular that it began to be made anywhere, still under the name of Cheddar.  Cheddar effectively now means hard cheddar-style cheese from anywhere. But the original Cheddar cheese has fought back to reclaim its origin, and quality credentials, in the form of European Union PDO (protected designation of origin) status for West Country Farmhouse Cheddar. It has had this protection and guarantee since 1996.

So it is with the single vineyard of Liebfrauenstift-Kirchenstück in Worms, Rheinhessen. This small vineyard, with a heritage of vine cultivation going back half a millennium, was the birthplace of what become known as Liebfraumilch.  It is now fighting to restore its reputation.

Here’s how the story goes

Since the late 15^th century the gothic Church of our Lady (Liebfrauenkirche) in Worms became an important stopping point along the pilgrim route to Santiago di Compostela in north-west Spain. Worms had already long been an intersection for trade routes following the south-north flow of the river Rhine and those going east and west, needing to cross the river.

Wine from vineyards surrounding the church, and monastery, which had been on the same site, grew in reputation. And the legend from the 1600s has it that the wine tasted as sweet as the milk of our Lady (liebfrauenmilch).

The church’s Madonna statue, whose image was long a familiar sight on labels of 20^th century Liebfraumilch, was originally carved in the latter part of the 15^th century, when the Church of our Lady was finished.  She now takes her place at the edge of the vineyards, from which fruit the original, vineyard-specific, wine was made.  However there’s no record of the grape varieties used to make the original Liebfraumilch.

Evolution

The estate is now owned by Wilhelm Steifensand, seventh generation of the founder of the Valckenberg company, which started exporting Liebfraumilch wines in the 1800s. 

Export impetus was increased in 1840 when Britain’s Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and decided have white wine for the lunch.  Liebfraumilch became exported the world over, including China, in those days of British Empire.

At this time in the 19^th century there were no wine estates in Germany, which, today, make wine from delimited vineyards.  There were famous vineyards with people producing wines in those famous vineyards, much like, for example, the famous vineyards of Burgundy today. And there were no production regulations, so that by the turn of the 1900s Liebfraumilch was very popular, being made under that name using grapes coming from a much larger vineyard area than the original.

Tilman Queins

Production, under the name Liebfraumilch, had spread along the Rhine, losing any link with the original vineyard. So, by the time of Germany’s wine law of 1909, Liebfraumilch was designated a regional wine, rather than a vineyard-specific wine.  Then the infamous 1971 wine law made it an even larger regional wine, able to be produced in the Pfalz, Rheinhessen, Rheingau and the Nahe. 

By the post-second world war period the wine Liebfraumilch bore no relationship to the original vineyards and had become a fruity-sweet style, uncomplicated and easy to drink.

The Liebfrauenstift estate, just 14 hectares in size, no longer has anything to do with Liebfraumilch, and indeed, is working towards VDP status, which recognises first growth level vineyards.  Winemaker Tilman Queins, who took over at the now-city vineyard in 2001, makes three categories of wine from the single vineyard Liebfrauenstift-Kirchenstück estate, still overlooked by the Madonna.

The wines are made from riesling.

This article was inspired by a Master of Wine group visit to the producer in September 2009.

Olivier Humbrecht MW

The Zind Humbrecht estate was founded in 1959 when Olivier’s father, Léonard, married Geneviève Zind. Before that the Humbrecht estate dated to 1620. The estate comprises around 40 hectares of vines around Alsace’s southern villages of Thann, Hunawihr, Gueberschwihr, Wintzenheim and Turckheim. The estate finished converting to biodynamism in 1999.

There’s a lot to manage at the domaine, as Humbrecht makes between 28 and 35 different wines in any given year, with a total production of roughly between 13,000 to 18,000 dozens.

The vintage 2007

Humbrecht said: “2007 was special for me and Alsace. We had a budbreak that was extremely early. A warm April was followed by perfect May weather. Many [of our] vineyards finished flowering on May 25th.” Alluding to climate change, he added “my grandfather never saw this before June 1st.” 

In a region such as Alsace, an early flowering augurs well for wine as it allows more time for the vine to produce sugar (a cooler climate limiting factor). But the downside, Humbrecht said was you “might ripen grapes in the warmer part of year, so you may lose some acidity.”

But August 2007 was a “lousy, cold, rainy month. The vines took more time to ripen the grapes [which therefore] kept huge acidity levels. Gradually the grapes ripened in September/October.”

In summary, Humbrecht said their “2007 had very healthy grapes, with no rot and huge acidity, above the average.”  He cites it as being a great vintage. Not words he would use lightly.

Indice

Because Alsace wines have become notorious for being bone dry to medium sweet, without any stipulation on the label to help consumers, Humbrecht developed this ‘indice’, which gives an indication of the level of sweetness on the palate. Vendange Tardive and Sélection de Grains Nobles are excluded from this ranking, because they are, by definition, sweet to very sweet.

This number, from 1 to 5, combines the sweetness, acidity, alcohol and overall structure of the wine.

1. Technically dry or tasting dry.
2. Not technically dry, but sweetness not apparent on the palate. Some tasters might find some roundness on the finish.
3. Medium sweetness, especially present when the wine is young and might gradually disappear with the ageing.
4. Sweet wine.
5. High sweetness, vendange tardive in richness without the usual botrytis of vendange tardive.

The wines

Zind 2007 ~£15
12.5%.  12g/l RS.  Indice: 2
65% chardonnay 35% auxerrois from Clos Windsbuhl in Hunawihr – a steep slope facing south and east. Calcareous ‘muschelkalk’ with lots of seashells in it. Old, rocky, poor soil. 
Zind is a ‘vin de table’.  As it contains chardonnay, it is not allowed the Alsace appellation. 
The nose is of creamy melon and peach with aromatic white stone fruit, and with perfumed apple blossom in the background. Creamy smooth palate attack, rich, sweet stone fruit, with aromatic star anise spice; balance residual sweetness with attractive weight and volume. Not massively complex (not designed to be), but delicious and enticing.

Muscat Herrenweg de Turckheim, 2007 ~£25
13.9%. 2.2 g/l RS. Indice: 1
75% muscat d’Alsace, 25% muscat Ottonel.
A serious muscat, which starts fragrantly grapey, with aromatic spicy weight and richness. Modest acidity gives breadth to the body, fully dry, but aromatic nature of grape variety makes it an accompaniment to Asian food. No enormous complexity, (by design); has attractive volume of fruit, with hints of savouriness; persistent flavour in mouth, which is not in the fruity spectrum, but in the more serious, earth-driven spectrum.
Humbrecht said: “less sweet, less grapey, showing more mineral character. Shows muscat is an early ripening grape, planted in early vineyards. Rich. Harvested early with medium acidity, no noble rot.”

Riesling Herrenweg de Turckheim, Lot 144, 2007, ~£25
13.5%.  9.8g/l RS.  Indice: 1 
This is a valley floor vineyard with porous soil; heat penetrates more quickly than a soil that retains water. It is the most precocious vineyards on the estate.  
Elusive hints of tropical fruit on the nose. Palate attack is of fresh yellow fruit, with citrus, almost lime background, and firm fleshy/ripe acid core. Understated, lime and pineapple gently erupting on mid palate. Medium bodied, of elegance as well as substance. It has a long palate profile, focused on fruit spectrum, with attractive alcohol warmth at the back palate. The finish is also long and fruity.

Riesling Heimbourg 2007  ~£28
13.5%. 10.2g/l RS.  Indice: 2
Citrus, white stone fruit nose, with some allspice spiciness. Stony and tropical at the same time. A little tingly texture on the tongue. Has a long palate which is rich and pure fruited. Elegance and length in the palate, with a blossoming of fruit and texture along its linear core fleshed out with fruit and hints of spice. Lovely complexity all through the palate.  It has a lightness of being despite the intensity, volume and breadth of flavour.

Riesling Grand Cru Rangen de Thann, Clos Saint-Urban 2007  ~£48
13.5%. 2g/l RS.  Indice: 1. 
This grand cru is at the southern end of Alsace at relatively high altitude of 350m to 450m.  
Tropical and citrus nose, with star anise. Long and expansive palate, savoury, complex, stony and spicy, with serious hints of complexing gun-smokiness. It has a linear palate structure, with fruit and stony flavour fronds blossoming beautifully. It’s intensely complex and layered; young and delicious now with its fresh core and elegant combination of fruit flesh and savoury notes. This is massively long and richly flavoured. Again, that intensity with lightness of being, even though the concentration is right there. Fabulouso.  

Pinot Gris Calcaire 2007  ~£23
14.6%.  29g/l RS. Indice: 3
Fruit from Clos Windsbuhl, the estate’s biggest single vineyard.
A notably darkish hue of straw. Tangerine-like on the nose, with overt medium sweetness on the very clean focused mid palate of honey and honeysuckle. The alcohol is nicely integrated into the quite full bodied and rich style. A great introduction to Alsace pinot gris.  

Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl 2007 ~£30
15.3%. 9g/l RS. Indice: 2
Typical straw colour, with an aromatic spicy nose; allspice. Rich tingling on the tongue, with smooth steely/stony texture, gunsmoke, orange zest notes mid palate and a long finish.  The alcohol is completely harmonious and the wine retains a very fresh core, something of a hallmark for the vintage. The flavour concentration and its freshness of core sends shivers down the back. 

Gewurztraminer Clos Windsbuhl Vendange Tardive 2005, ~£50 /half
12.4%.  74 g/l RS. Indice 5.
Lemon colour with classic lychee and rose petal aromatics. Lush texture attack, honeyed, with a smooth sweetness to the mid palate; the texture and flavour inseparable in delight. This is elegant and mid-weighted with notes of honeysuckle, turkish delight, ginger and nutmeg.  It’s harmonious, seamless, delightful, focused, very clean and long.  A proper sweet wine with a filigree detail of definition.

Majestic £8.69 per bottle standard.
Between Oct 30, 2009 and Feb 1, 2010, buy 2, save 20% … £6.95

Costero Riesling 2009

Viña Leyda is producing some of the most exciting wines coming out of Chile at the moment. This riesling is no exception, and on promo it provides really tasty value for money.

The vineyards are around 15km from the Pacific Ocean, which provides chilly winds to cool down the growing fruit. This helps retain both acidity and aromatics.

It’s an easy and gentle riesling, so if you think you don’t like riesling, I reckon this one is fab. enough to suggest you have another look.

Intense fresh lime flavours attack your palate in a zesty but not tingling manner, and give way to a gentle, smooth palate with a mouthfilling volume of lime and citrus fruit.  Excellent balance accentuates the moreish, pure fruit flavours. The wine is focused.  It’s not complex, but it is layered with unadulterated primary fruits, having been made entirely in stainless steel.

Lower Austria is the country’s biggest and most diverse group of wine regions, clustered in the north-east corner of the country, and accounting for over 60% of the country’s vineyard area.  It is most important for white grape varieties such as grüner veltliner and riesling, the best of which rival the top, longest-lived, most highly respected dry white wines in the world.

Wachau, Kremstal and Kamptal

Terraced vineyards

The trinity of Wachau, Kremstal and Kamptal, at the western extremity of vine cultivation in Austria, close to the banks of the river Danube, and just one hour west of Vienna, is the origin for most of these globally celebrated wines, the pinnacle of which are dry, rich, concentrated and tautly defined wines of precision and place.

These three sub-regions comprise 7,500 ha between them, just 15% of Austria’s vineyard plantings.

The climate here is dry, and continental, with long cool autumns. Conditions uniquely combine to create consummate wine-growing potential. Warm winds blow from the Pannonian plain in the east. Some of these are funnelled up the river Danube to the eastern reaches of the Wachau, their influence waning westwards as they lose pace. Virtually all the vineyards in these areas are on the northern bank of the Danube, to catch maximum sunlight exposure during the growing season, and in places, especially in the Wachau, vineyards are precipitous and terraced, thanks to the work of the church in previous times, evidence of the centuries-long history of vine cultivation in Austria. The terraces add further motes of warmth by re-radiating the sun’s heat.

The Pannonian influence is strongest up to the eastern parts of Wachau, at Durnstein, where Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned.  Just beyond the town, the Danube turns sharply southward, blocking the warm Pannonian air.  It gets progressively cooler going west. As a result, wines from eastern Wachau can be more opulent, a little richer and more powerful than those to the west. At the western end, in Spitz, the meso-climate is wetter and cooler, almost 3°C cooler than at Loiben in the east of the region, and the wines more finely structured and minerally, with an almost exotic note. 

Cool afternoon mountain winds come down from the Waldviertal, north of the region which enables grapes to retain natural acidity while allowing full, spicy, ripeness to be achieved. Aspect and precise location have a discernible influence on the wines.

Most Wachau producers are part of the Vinea Wachau group, the roots of which date to a 13^th century land classification. The aim of the group is to safeguard the origin and improve the quality of their wines, which are all dry and are categorised according to style:

• steinfeder is the lightest in weight and alcohol (11%),
• federspiel of middling weight and
• smaragd the richest, most full-bodied style and with alcohol about 13%. Smaragd wines are named after the green lizards which come out to bask in the sunshine on the vineyard terraces.

It is usually the full-bodied smaragd style where the pinnacle of quality and longevity is found.  Rudi Pichler, of his eponymous estate said “to show terroir, you need a single vineyard. Single vineyards are normally destined for smaragd quality, therefore, the best quality is usually the smaragd style”. Hirtzberger’s Singerriedel Riesling Smaragd with density, freshness, intensity and concentration is surely one of the most sought-after wines in the entire valley.

The exemplary co-operative, Domäne Wachau, makes some excellent quality and good value riesling and grüner veltliner from single vineyard sites, and other producers to splash out on for a revelatory Wachau experience include Leo Alzinger, Emmerich Knoll, FX Pichler and Prager.

Picturesque slopes

Sandwiched between the Wachau and Kamptal, is Kremstal, with vineyards on either side of Danube tributary, the river Krems. Vineyards here are located on the world’s third largest loess terrace which extends about six kilometres from Krems to Gedersdorf (the largest is in China, and the second largest is the famed Kaiserstuhl vineyard in Germany).  Riesling gives way to grüner veltliner as the dominant variety here.

Grüner veltliner grapes ripen fairly late, so it prefers cool nights to achieve perfect acid balance with alcohol and aromatic expression. It is another variety that expresses its terroir or site, and is at its best on primary rock with fertile top soil of either loess or shale origin, so this region provides some good examples. It has a spicy, smoky character with distinctive white pepper notes. Its fruit character ranges from citrus to rich, peachy and apricot flavours. Martin Nigl of his eponymous winery explained the diversity of styles with this grape variety: “there are three styles of grüner veltliner: a fresh, young style, the ‘golden middle’ with enough freshness and enough concentration so it can be an aperitif or go with a meal, and the concentrated style” which is a real food wine.   

Centred on the town of Langenlois, a little further east from Kremstal, lies Kamptal, where the reputation for grüner veltliner is second to none. This is home to the iconic Willi Bründlmayer estate, and to numerous other top producers such as Schloss Gobelsburg, Hiedler and Hirsch.

The climate is a little drier, and the wines a little broader and richer than the Wachau. During the day, warm air from the southern plain of the Danube flows up the valley of the river Kamp while by night, a cool breeze from the Waldviertel blows over the vineyards and terraces down the valley. Geology remains important as a quality driver. Micky Moosbrugger, of Schloss Gobelsburg explained: “the most important soils are 280 million years old – brown, amphibolites, mica, schist. This is the basement of the whole Danube area through the Wachau, Krems and Kamptal areas. In Kamptal, there is a geological island at Gobelsburg, where alpine glacial deposits formed a croupe of big gravels, and another geological island at Heiligenstein, of Permian rock, sandstone and gneiss.”  The Heiligenstein has a reputation of almost mythical proportion.  An early mention in 1280 suggests it was a mountain on which the sun ‘burns like hell’ (or Hellenstein).

Langenlois is something of vinous mecca, and the Loisium opened in 2003 amid the vineyards, a futuristically shiny block of a wine visitor’s centre.

Wienviertal

Weinviertal turbines on the horizon

Staying north of the Danube, the Wienviertal borders the Czech Republic and Slovakia.  With 16,000 ha, it is Austria’s most extensive vineyard region – a large expanse of rolling countryside with mixed agriculture interspersed with vineyards. Elegant wind farms stand above wheat and sunflower fields.

The region is making a name for itself by being the first to adopt a system of origin called DAC (Districtus Austria Controllatus). The philosophy of this voluntary system is to create a link between a variety and a region, where the chosen variety shows a typical style of wine for the region. So DAC Wienviertal is for grüner veltliner, which covers 50% of the region’s vineyard plantings.  Many other grape varieties are grown but the idea is to focus on one variety for the DAC. Thus it offers consumers a consistent style of wine which is representative of the region.  In this case DAC grüner veltliner should be fruity, spicy, peppery and dry with no wood influence and a minimum of 12% alcohol. 

Both inside and outside of the DAC system, the big names to look out for include Graf Hardegg, Pfaffl, Weinrieder and Zull.

Thermenregion and Carnuntum

South of the river and heading south of Vienna are Thermenregion and Carnuntum.  Carnuntum’s leading light is Markowitsch with both his reds and whites, and whilst the region grows mostly white wines from grüner veltliner, weissburgunder (pinot blanc) and chardonnay, it is the reds that are worth watching.

Thermenregion, region of spas, is making a niche for itself with rotgipfler and zierfandler. These are two elusive white grape varieties that are worth searching out, though with just 100 ha of each planted, it may be something of a labour of love. Around the spa town of Baden there’s a long south east facing slope of gentle gradient, which brings to mind the Côte d’Or, running towards the historic village of Gumpoldskirchen, and it is in this area that the grape varieties thrive.

Rotgipfler is not red (’rot’), but takes its name from its red-tipped shoots. It likes warm hillside locations like those around Gumpoldskirchen.  Both it and zierfandler can be made from dry to fully sweet, and in the dry styles, it is rotgipfler that has the edge in terms of palate weight with spicy and tropical fruit, zierfandler being a little lighter, perhaps with a degree more elegance, and some  nutty character.  

Traisental, Donauland, Vienna

These are the less well-known vineyard areas of Lower Austria, and mostly they hug the south bank of the river.  Grüner veltliner is the predominant variety in Traisental.  Donauland is cultivating its own niche. Plentiful loess soils grow mostly grüner veltliner, riesling and pinot blanc and Bernhard Ott produces some good examples. Much of the wine from Vienna vineyards goes to supply the popular Heurige bars in the city.

Country Blaufränkisch: Austria’s ABC

Rust architecture

Austria, with less than one per cent of global wine production is a hot-house of innovation and aspiration for its red wine producers, who account for about 35% of production, and increasing.  It is only in the last generation that any sort of serious red wine tradition has developed. And as was seen, for example, with the rapid evolution of Australian chardonnay from heavily worked and highly oaked to increasingly moderated expressions and unoaked styles, so Austria is in the midst of revolution with its reds, finding its best expressions, and all on a microscopic scale of vineyard holding and vineyard site which seems more reminiscent of Burgundy, also with family-owned, family-named wineries. Factor in the different indigenous grape varieties that bless Austria and a jigsaw puzzle of minutiae emerges to delight the connoisseur and confound the debutant.

Just a generation ago, Austrian wine was made to be drinkable straight away, and reds were vinified almost as white wines – low tannins, some residual sugar – a red coloured liquid without any of the features of red wine, often to meet market demand, especially from Germany, which has undergone a parallel red wine reform. Dr. Josef Schuller MW, managing director of the Austrian Wine Academy said: “the tradition of producing great red wines was not there, so what evolved in the 80s and 90s were deep, darkly coloured wines. Through the 80s, the trend was to stop producing reds with residual sugar, and to start using new wood. It was in the 80s that malolactic fermentation was a hot topic in Austria” Schuller added that the taste of new oak – ‘neuerl’ used to be considered a fault by the wine quality board, and that this changed only in the 80s. A mid 1980s visit by Burgenland producers to Bordeaux helped revolutionise the red wine landscape. Structure, earthy dryness, tannin, power, oak became the new bywords for quality, and the evolution of style and place continues.

There are fewer than 12,000 hectares (ha) of red grape vineyards in all of Austria. While there are smatterings of red vineyards throughout the country, even in the whiter than white renowned growing districts,  Burgenland is the heartland, homeland and hero region for red wine production with over 40% of red plantings. The vast Weinviertal, to the north of Vienna, also has big holdings, mainly of zweigelt and portugieser.

The four areas of Burgenland comprise the key red wine areas, and all are influenced to a greater or lesser extent by the continental Pannonian climate coming from the Hungarian steppes to the east, and by the large, shallow lake Neusidedl.

• Neusiedlersee – to the east of the lake
• Neusiedlersee-Hügelland – to the west of the lake
• Mittelburgenland – to the south of the lake
• Südburgenland – a little bit further to the south of the lake

Neusiedlersee

Neusiedlersee

Neusiedlersee is the only middle European steppe lake, and it is right at the western edge of the Pannonian plains. This large shallow lake, with an average depth of one metre, at about 100m above sea level, lake regulates climate in an important way. While up to 40% of the lake evaporates each year, creating humidity for botrytis to develop for sweet wines, a little further around the lake, black grapes come into their own. Zweigelt and blaufränkisch dominate, with some pinot noir, sankt laurent, cabernet sauvignon and merlot.

While the axis of Apetlon and Illmitz conjure images of rich, sensuous sweet wines, it is the trapezium of Gols, Mönchhof, Podersdorf, and Frauenkirchen on the north east perimeter of the lake that is the core of red production.

From the northernmost tip of the lake a distinct ridge runs from the north west to the south east immediately above Gols and Mönchhof, 30-50m above the plains. On the gentle slopes of this ridge are some of the best vineyard sites for reds on this side of the lake, such as Ungerberg, Altenberg, Salzberg and Gabarinza.  The ridge leads up to the Parndorf plateau, where, Axel Stiegelmar of Weingut Juris says: “It’s slightly cooler because of the wind, therefore earlier ripening varieties such as pinot noir and sankt laurent are better suited.” The slopes on the other hand are deemed best for later ripening blaufränkisch, and merlot.

This is the home of the Pannobile group of growers. One of the features of Austrian wine growing is the number of growers’ groups, where usually a dozen or so growers have banded together to promote their wines, or to set a standard for what they think is the best that they or their area can produce. So for a wine to carry the ‘Pannobile’ label, it must be a minimum 85% local varieties.  It is usually a blend, from different soils and different grape varieties. Gerhard Pittnauer, relative newcomer to the Pannobile group said: “North Burgenland changed to a red wine region about 20 years ago. It is a perception of minimum quality, with group dynamics and competition for quality, and shared costs of marketing.  It’s a good way to  make a region better known. Pannobile should express quality and typicity, also personality of the winemaker. It is a good climate for discussion.”

Helmuth Renner one of the founding members of the Pannobile group, typifies the small scale of production in Austria.  Renner is the first generation of the family who works only with wine.  Their business used to be mixed farming, as in much of this area. His grandfather, who was a miller, started wine production in 1950. And his father was one of the first to plant chardonnay, in the 60s. Renner said of the region “production is split 50:50 red and white, but in the next 10 to 20 years, it will be 70% red.” Their own production is 80% red, with nearly all his vineyards up and near the slopes.   

A new group – Select Gols – has recently established itself, focusing purely on indigenous grape varieties: zweigelt, pinot noir, sankt laurent and blaufränkisch.  Pinot noir has been in Austria for long enough to count as indigenous.

The growers’ groups reflect more general winemaking trends, especially whether to blend solely indigenous varieties, or to add the likes of cabernet sauvignon, merlot or syrah. The Pannobile, for example, can have up to 15% of international varieties in the blend. Debate on these style differences will continue: as elsewhere in the world, when it is blended with indigenous varieties, there comes a point at which cabernet sauvignon dominates a blend and indigenous flavours are lost.

On this subject Josef Umathum says: “I want to have Austrian fruit in the wine. In the 80s and 90s there were lots of blends, now the trend is back to single varietal, and back to Austrian varieties, back to blaufränkisch and sankt laurent and less to pinot noir.”

Gernot and Heike Heinrich, are master craftspeople of both varietal wine and single vineyard wines (blends), with that international twist. They own 10ha of the 14ha Gabarinza vineyard, as well as part of the Salzberg vineyard. Heinrich says he uses “the upper slope, with gravel and more humus for zweigelt, the middle slope, with sand, clay, no humus for blaufränkisch, and the lower slope again for zweigelt. Zweigelt needs more humus as it does not like to suffer, and blaufränkisch does better on heavier soil.”

Heinrich says: “zweigelt has darker fruit, more black cherry, softer tannin, fuller body, lacks the length, tannin, structure of a good blaufränkisch, therefore it´s good for blending.” Both his Salzberg and Gabarinza single vineyard wines are blended with merlot, which he says offers ripeness, power and ageing potential.

Neusiedlersee-Hügelland

Over on the west side of the lake, Rust is the centre for sweet wine production, with red wine producers located here too, and the Leitha Hills to the west of the lake provide vineyards for dry whites and reds.

Leitha Hills soils

The slate and limestone Leitha Hills, where a mix of red and white varieties are grown, range up to 300-325m above sea level, and provide a 35km border to the north west, protecting the vineyards of Neusiedlersee-Hügelland from cool northerly winds.  Vineyards are located on the gentle south and south east facing slopes, garnering warmth from the lake.

Hans Nehrer said “Blaufränkisch is late ripening so not found so high up the slopes. Zweigelt can go higher and pinot noir, because both are earlier ripening. The sun goes down pretty fast too, so we have good diurnal temperature variations which can be up to 20°C.”

Mittelburgenland

To the south of the lake and into the pre-Alps, this hilly, forested region is pitched as ‘blaufränkisch country’, and wine production, on 2000 ha, three quarters of it red, is concentrated in a west-east running series of slopes from Neckenmarkt and Horitschon in the west to Deutschkreutz in the east, right on the Hungarian border. Before 1921, the region’s main city was Sopron, which has remained Hungarian. Here soils are deep, heavy sands and loams, and some of the vines qualify for old status at up to 80 years.  

This broad valley range, 230 to 350m above sea level is surrounded on three sides by hills, the Odenburger Hills to the north, Rosalien Hills to the west, and Geschriebenstein Hills to the south, with the weather mostly coming from the east, unless rains and storms come up from the south. For this reason, cover crops are more likely to be found in this region.   Franz Weninger of Weingut Weninger said: “The climate is influenced by Neusiedlersee, but there is no direct contact. Warm air seeps up the valley from the east.”

Mittelburgenland

As befits its moniker, blaufränkisch is the main grape of the region, late-ripening, during the middle to end of October.  It’s cooler here, a bit higher, a bit wetter, harvest is maybe a week later, so the acidity of blaufränkisch is a bit fresher, and fruit characters trend to crisp red and sour cherry, with a peppery and sometimes herbaceous note; tannins can be more linear. But the degree of freshness and lift offered by a hint more acidity adds an element of elegance to the best wines that’s not always found closer to the lake. 

There is more chalk in the soil at Neckenmarkt, vines are on the higher slope, up to 350m, and the top site, qualitatively and altitudinally, Hochberg, has deep water storage capability in its loam soils. On the south side, Horitschon, 100m lower, has loam and loess soils.  Over to the east, Deutschkreutz has more gravel, with lighter, loess soils and stones which retain moisture and warmth, giving fuller wines with creamy texture and heavier tannin.

Anton Iby’s red wines come from the three main Horitschon vineyards: Hochäcker, Dürrau, Gfanger. He spoke of the extreme content of clay in the heavy soil, saying these are the oldest vineyards in Horitschon, because they could not grow white varieties in the heavy soil, and so had not been replanted. He said:  ”fruit and high ripe phenols are important. I learnt a lot in Priorat about fine ripe structure – most is fruit, next is tannin and the acid level should be present, but not dominant.”

Roland Velich, of Apetlon renown, is working with some aplomb in Mittelburgenland under the Moric label with blaufränkisch. He said: “we´re in a northern country, the aim is cool, elegant wines driven by finesse. It’s warmer than Burgundy. Blaufränkisch ripens a little before cabernet sauvignon. Sometimes we get the spicy expression of syrah but we can get the silky textures of pinot noir”

“Burgenland has a Pannonic situation; it is more connected with wines of Hungary. We aim for origin, typicity, the character of the grape varieties and not of oak; elegance of fruit, a mineral nerve which keeps freshness in the wine and makes it ageworthy. A classic European expression. should be drinkable, we don’t want to produce monsters.” They are using notably tiny amounts of new oak.

Südburgenland

About 100km south of Horitschon, and with 450 dispersed hectares, Südburgenland is the small southern settlement of red wine production in Austria. With a mild Pannonian climate, old blaufränkisch is grown in iron-rich soils, adding an element of spice and concentration in the best examples.  Production is focused on neighbouring villages of Eisenberg and Deutsch-Schützen. 

While there are about 500 producers in Südburgenland, many of them hobbyists, Krutzler is the most noted producer, especially with the Perwolff blend of blaufränkisch with 10% cabernet sauvignon.

The overt oak odyssey: over and out?

For sure there are plenty of tasty styles of wine made in big old wood and other inert vessels, but it is the top cuvées that make the noise for Austrian reds.  For these, the honeymoon period is probably not over yet for ostentatious, overt oak, but some of the best producers seem to be drawing back a little from its sometimes dominating vanilla and cream, toast and spice notes, letting the fruit shine through.  Moric may be one of the vanguard in this respect.

Franz Weninger says “you have to be really careful with wood.  Blaufränkisch is the great red variety of Austria, with great ageing potential. It is mainly the fruit-acid balance which holds the wine, not the tannin. Barrique was quite heavy in the last 10 years, most winemakers are now finding the right way of using wood.”