Winemaker Notes
Impressive, multifaceted bouquet marked by noble reduction, fine yeasty (and a touch of toasty) spice with flinty minerals, while, when opening up after several hours showing hints of white flowers, pome fruit, green nuts and a whiff of exotic fruit; starting creamy, then fresh, bone dry, and if not 'juicy' then truly mouth-watering, again with many fragrant hints of divers fruit (like above), followed by minerals and spice, very impressive too is the great balance, elegance and persistence until the almost salty final: This is finest, cool climate white wine!
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2022 Grüner Veltliner Ried Lamm was harvested on the eastern slope bordering the Heiligenstien on loess on top of sandstone, fermented and aged in 300-liter barrels with yeast stirring. Smoke and hazelnut on the nose point to oak and reduction in equal measure. Underneath that, some herbal savor shines through. The palate comes in with pristine acidity, edged with stone-fruit ripeness and a smooth, fluid mouthfeel. The yeasty texture is a backdrop for this rounded yet immensely contoured wine that represents freshness, understatement and length. (Bone-dry)
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James Suckling
Rich and full-bodied, this is a serious high-end gruner veltliner with a wealth of candied-citrus aromas plus a touch of bergamot. Compact and concentrated with a great interplay of tannins and restrained ripeness. Long, very structured finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Grüner Veltliner Ried Lamm 1ÖTW is deep and pure yet also intense and complex on the rich, lemony and herbal as well as stony and saline nose. Full-bodied, rich and finely tannic on the palate due to the aging in oak, this is a dense and concentrated yet vital, fresh, refined and persistently saline Veltliner from the famous Lamm vineyard that is located at the bottom of the Heiligenstein and thus grown on richer soils.
Rating: 95+
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.