Danube Grüner Veltliner and Riesling: Meandering Through Terroir

tasting / laying down / Danube Grüner Veltliner and Riesling DANUBE GRÜNER VELTLINER AND RIESLING: MEANDERING THROUGH TERROIR Stephan Reinhardt introduces an exciting tasting that he shared with Stephen Brook and Andrew Jefford of some of Austria’s greatest white wines, assessing the quality of an array of single-site Grüner Veltliners and Rieslings, most from the 2018 vintage, and exploring the differences in the many and varied terroirs that follow the Danube River from Vienna to Spitz his tasting is dedicated to the Around the regions great white wines of the Danube, ACCORDING TO The Kamptal is seamlessly connected to Tin so far as they originate from RECEIVED WISDOM, the vineyards of the Wagram, though the federal states of Vienna and Lower when it comes to shaping the wine’s Austria, respectively from the growing THE VELTLINERS AND character, the name of the region is much regions Vienna, Wagram, Kamptal, RIESLINGS FROM THE less relevant than a vineyard’s position Traisental, Kremstal, and Wachau, which WAGRAM ARE FRUITY relative to the Danube, which has an are connected from east to west. Thus, effect on the soil and a more or less the Rieslings and Grüner Veltliners of AND FULL-BODIED, powerful climatic influence. Vineyards the Danube region have established BUT THERE IS ALSO closer to the Danube are naturally more Austria’s reputation as the origin of exposed to it than those farther away, world-class white wines, even if, in A GOOD NUMBER from where one cannot even see the doing so, they have overshadowed the OF SURPRISINGLY river. In the original bed of the Danube, outstanding white wines also being CRYSTALLINE WINES the vines are mostly planted in flat areas produced in Burgenland and Styria, on gravelly alluvial soils, which warm up which deserve their own tasting one day. quickly and are therefore particularly But first, we wanted to take stock of Wagram. These soils are also calcareous well suited to red varieties, such as Pinot those top wines from the Danube that but not stony; rather, dusty and very Noir, St Laurent, and Zweigelt (aka had yet to be featured in an extensive fertile. The fine granularity of the loess Rotburger). In the Kamptal, as well as tasting in WFW. The Danube valley, with allowed it to accumulate in layers several in the Kremstal and Traisental, and also its roughly 13,000ha (32,000 acres) of meters high, from which wine growers in the eastern part of the Wachau, the vines, is a homogenous cultural area. have formed terraces over the centuries east-sloping sites are again characterized Between Vienna and Spitz in the western and under the specifications of the by loess, whereas those to the south and Wachau, essentially the same grape original Danube. According to received west are characterized by the crystalline varieties are cultivated, and the (primeval) wisdom, the Veltliners (Grüner, Roter, soils of mica slate with gneiss and Danube has not only created the wine and Frühroter) and Rieslings from amphibolite. These can also be found in landscapes, it also influences the climate the Wagram are fruity and full-bodied, the higher areas, far from the Danube, and the growth and ripening of the grapes. but there is also, happily, a good number where some of Austria’s most interesting The terroirs of the Danube are quite of surprisingly crystalline wines. Rieslings are cultivated. different from east to west, especially Sometimes the vine roots penetrate the A special terroir of the Kamptal, with regard to: mighty layers of loess (several dozen unique in the whole country, is the 1. The altitudes from 200–400m above meters deep, which can soak up water terraced Zöbinger Heiligenstein, sea level; like a sponge and thus almost preclude visible from afar, whose easily warmed, 2. The exposure and steepness of the drought stress of the vines), reaching into completely lime-free, reddish-brown vineyards; the primary-rock soil. This gives these sandstone and conglomerate soils from 3. Their soils; wines a surprisingly fine structure and a the Permian period give the Rieslings an 4. The proximity to the Danube. different nervy or even salty acidity. Most unmistakably warm, deep, sustainable, While shell limestone soils such sites are farther from the Danube at but also fine and crystalline character. predominate in Vienna, loess deposits higher altitudes, making them particularly At the southeastern foot of the slope, in from the Ice Age are found on the suitable for Riesling but also Pinot Blanc. one of the hottest locations in the region, 196 | THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 69 | 2020 WFW69_Tastings_Danube White Wines_10pp SUB DW NB3.indd 196 21/09/2020 11:53 the great Grüner Veltliners of the Lamm Gobelsburg), despite heat and rain, led vineyard grow on silty soils, again rich GREAT WINES WILL to wines that were not only stylistically in limestone. INCREASINGLY DEPEND varied but also qualitatively different. The border between the Kamptal In any case, the production of great and Kremstal is also fluid, and one should NOT ONLY ON THE wines in the future will depend not only not make the mistake of thinking that TERROIR BUT ALSO on the terroir, which is increasingly one region is different from the other. ON THE WORK IN THE interesting on higher and cooler sites Here, too, the distance to the Danube with water-retaining soils, but also on weighs far more heavily and has an equal VINEYARD, THE TIME the work in the vineyard, the time of influence on climate and soil. The wines OF HARVEST, THE harvest, the grape processing, and the from Senftenberg, for example, which aging of the wines. This has always been grow on barren primary-rock soils, GRAPE PROCESSING, important, but the more the harvest date have a completely different, almost AND THE AGING OF is moved forward due to climate change, alpine character compared to the fruity, THE WINES and the earlier in the morning picking elegant wines from Krems itself or from takes place, the more important other Rohrendorf or Gedersdorf. Geologically considerations become: shade, canopy and climatically, as well as in taste terms, which characterizes all other areas of height and management, the preset the wines from Senftenberg are Wachau the Danube region, although here, too, yield level, how to press, and whether (or Spitzer Graben) wines anyway, as the Waldviertel has its influence in the or how long one should leave juice and are the Rieslings and Veltliners from higher situated vineyards. skins together in order to preserve the Steiner sites belonging to Krems, structure and acidity (which should especially from Pfaffenberg. More terroir than variety never be added to great terroir wines). Geologically the Kremstal is at least For this tasting, I asked the leading Years ago, harvests were still as diverse as the Kamptal. Opposite, on Danube producers for their two single- being completed at the beginning the other side of the Danube, the Kremstal vineyard favorites, which could be of November, when one had to worry paradoxically continues and meets that Riesling or Grüner Veltliner or one of less about acidity levels or the intensity part of the Wachau that has little or each, from the 2018 vintage. Prior to of fruit or terroir aromas than today. nothing to do with the part between the tasting, I had felt more affection for In 2018, even in the cool, extremely Loiben and Spitz. But it is home to the the Veltliners from that year, since the late-maturing Spitzer Graben, the last famous Nikolaihof, which every wine robust Grüner Veltliner seemed better grapes were harvested in mid-October. region would like to have within its able to cope with the challenges of the borders and which cultivates excellent extremely warm and early vintage. (Some AVERAGE AND RANGE OF SCORES sites on the Krems side without wine growers started harvesting even in marketing these wines as Kremstal. the best vineyards at the end of August.) Average Range The small Traisental is also on the Riesling seemed less welcoming of the southern side of the Danube, and here rainfalls at the beginning of September, Tasting 90 74–96 too, loess soils dominate, though the and some vines were affected by botrytis, best wine growers, such as Markus which blurred the clarity and precision SB 90 86–95 Huber and Ludwig Neumayer, prefer of expression. On the other hand, many AJ 88 74–95 to emphasize the conglomerates—the Veltliners turned out to be very opulent strong lime content characterizes the and to lack identity and nuance. SR 92 88–96 finest of their wines and distinguishes That was my impression from early them from all other wines of the Danube. tastings shortly before the 2019 harvest. The Wachau is the most famous Ultimately, however, 2018 is a vintage STEPHAN REINHARDT’S TOP WINES: region of the Danube and undoubtedly that was a challenge for certain terroirs Weingut Bründlmayer Ried Zöbinger the most beautiful and culturally rich, rather than particular grape varieties. Heiligenstein Riesling Alte Reben 1 ÖTW besides Vienna. Its best wines are not That may explain why the growers in this Kamptal 2018 96 only numerous but are also among the tasting didn’t submit representatives of Weingut Bründlmayer Ried Langenloiser Spiegel world’s finest. Sometimes the influence each variety but, rather, of the sites that Vincent Grüner Veltliner 1 ÖTW Kamptal 2018 96 of the terroir here is so strong that even were best suited to the year. Although I Prager Ried Zwerithaler Kammergut Grüner connoisseurs can find it very difficult selected the growers whose wines had Veltliner Smaragd Wachau 2018 95 to distinguish Grüner Veltliner from impressed me most prior to the tasting, I Hajszan Neumann Ried Haarlocke Grüner Riesling, especially when it comes to didn’t know which wines they submitted.

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