Winemaker Notes
Blend: 100% Gruner Veltliner
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2023 Grüner Veltliner Ried Sauberg is the plateau behind Bürsting, on dense loess loam, fermented half in used 500-liter barrels and half in stainless steel. Subtle yeast on the nose carries gentle lemon, only giving a glimpse of the salty yeastiness. The palate is rounded, smooth, bright and superbly juicy, with pear juice and a touch of Mirabelle plum highlighting that slaty, yeasty vibe. (Bone-dry)
Range: 92-94 -
James Suckling
Sliced apples, white pepper and gooseberries on the nose of this focused and minerally white. Lightly peppery, with a medium body, excellent freshness and a persistent finish. Drink now or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From old vines on a plateau, the 2023 Ried Sauberg Grüner Veltliner Reserve opens with an intense, aromatic and slightly smoky bouquet that represents ripe fruit from saline loess-loam soils. Fine and savory on the palate, this is a full-bodied and crystalline structured Grüner with intense, round and charmingly intense fruit and a long, saline, creamy and finely savory finish. This is not as tensioned and dramatic as the Hermannschachern yet for many consumers surely the favorite of the two.
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.
Appreciated for superior wines made from indigenous varieties, Austria should be on the radar of any curious wine drinker. A rather cool and dry wine growing region, this country produces wine that is quintessentially European in style: food-friendly with racy acidity, moderate alcohol and fresh fruit flavors.
Austria’s viticultural history is rich and vast, dating back to Celtic tribes with first written record of winemaking starting with the Romans. But the 20th century brought Austria a series of winemaking obstacles, namely the plunder of both world wars, as well as its own self-imposed quality breach. In the mid 1980s, after a handful of shameless vintners were found to have added diethylene glycol (a toxic substance) to their sweet wines to imitate the unctuous qualities imparted by botrytis, Austria’s credibility as a wine-producing country was compromised. While no one was harmed, the incident forced the country to rebound and recover stronger than ever. By the 1990s, Austria was back on the playing field with exports and today is prized globally for its quality standards and dedication to purity and excellence.
Grüner Veltliner, known for its racy acidity and herbal, peppery aromatics, is Austria's most important white variety, comprising nearly a third of Austrian plantings. Riesling in Austria is high in quality but not quantity, planted on less than 5% of the country’s vineyard land. Austrian Rieslings are almost always dry and are full of bright citrus flavors and good acidity. Red varietal wines include the tart and peppery Zweigelt, spicy and dense Blaufränkisch and juicy Saint Laurent. These red varieties are also sometimes blended.