Winemaker Notes
Well matured, green walnut, elder flowers and citrus fruit, some cereals, nuts and cornflakes, very dry and fresh with quite some body and structure, also hints of leafy and peppery spice, rye bread and malt. A light bouquet of fresh green grapes, pome and stone fruit, classic Kamptal loss type with some mineral backbone mouthwatering finish.
A perfect companion to many starters such as smoked trout, ham, cold vegetables, sea food, tapas, or fresh marinated goat cheese with herbs; also very good with fish barbecue, or roasted chicken, Asian dishes if not too hot such as Dim Sum, or Wok, fine with ‘Vegan Cuisine’.
Organically grown
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
A tight, focused white with dried apple, honey and flint. Some stone, too. Full-bodied, creamy and minerally with dried mango and pear. So subtle and complex. From organically grown grapes.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Yeast and a subtle note of sage are timid on the nose. The light palate then adds green-pear freshness, while an edge of white pepper completes this picture of subtlety and freshness. This is brisk and crisp with a real refreshment factor.
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.