Winemaker Notes
Juvenile bouquet, purely flavored with pome fruit (pear, apples) accompanied by fragrant notes of citrus and hay and acacia flowers, still slightly yeasty. On the palate, dry, fresh and fruity with a touch of appealing roundness, moderate body and a fine grip. Again sappy pome and stone fruit tones. Great harmony, hints of tea leaves, minerals and spice in the mouthwatering finish.
A perfect companion to many starters such as smoked trout, ham, cold vegetables, seafood, tapas, or fresh marinated goat cheese with herbs.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Citrus, white pears and hints of snow peas on the nose of this juicy and crisp white. It’s medium-bodied, bright and cool, with a light peppery twist at the end. From organically grown grapes.
Fun to say and delightfully easy to drink, Grüner Veltliner calls Austria its homeland. While some easily quaffable Grüners come in a one-liter—a convenient size—many high caliber single vineyard bottlings can benefit from cellar aging. Somm Secret—About 75% of the world’s Grüner Veltliner comes from Austria but the variety is gaining ground in other countries, namely Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the United States.
Climbing north and slightly east of the Kremstal region, Kamptal has very little vineyard area bordering the Danube River (unlike Wachau and Kremstal, whose vineyards run along it). The region takes its name from the river called Kamp, which traverses it north and south. Kamptal’s densely planted vineyards represent eight percent of Austria’s total.
The area experiences wide diurnal temperature variations like the Wachau but with less rain and more frost. Its vast geologic diversity makes it suitable for various experimentations with other varieties besides Grüner Veltliner and Riesling, such as Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc (Weissburgunder), Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, St. Laurent and Zweigelt.
But the region is probably most noted for the beautiful and expansive terraced Heiligenstein, arguably one of the world’s top Riesling sites, as well as some of Austria’s most extraordinary Grüner Veltliner vineyards. Kamptal’s soils, which are mostly loess and sand with some gravel and rocks, make it suitable for Grüner Veltliner, so much so that actually half of the zone is planted to that grape.