Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Bründlmayer's 2021 Riesling Terrassen offers a clear and intense, pure and elegant bouquet of perfectly ripe and healthy Riesling berries intertwined with finely mineral and saline notes of crushed stones. Fruity, round and mouthfilling on the palate, this is a medium to full- bodied, very elegant and aromatic dry Riesling characterized by the poor rocky soils (gneiss/mica schist and perm sandstone) as well as, on the lower terraces, a layer of loess and clay as well, based on the particular climate. The terraced vineyards are located at an altitude of between 200 and 300 meters above sea level at the intersection of the Danube Valley and the Kamptal. The good daytime warming produces ripeness and a certain fullness of the grapes, while the suction effect of the Kamptal moves the cool air of the Waldviertel into the vineyards in the evening and at night, preserving freshness and fruit. The freshest and finest grapes for this assemblage come from the high-altitude vineyards, while the harvest from the lower terraces gives the wine some body. The 2021 is clear, refined and lush, very well balanced and crystalline in its fine and saline acidity that carries this excellent Riesling to a long and remarkably intense and stimulating finish. This is most probably the finest Terrassen Riesling I have had from Bründlmayer in a decade.
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Wine Spectator
A racy, minerally white, with delicate white peach and nectarine notes overlaying a bed of crushed stone and flint. The well-cut finish is marked by a whiff of petrol and supported by a searing beam of lemon-lime acidity. Tasty and inviting. Drink now through 2030.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
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.