Winemaker Notes
Sparkling clean, bouquet including notes of yellow stone fruit and lemon, 'grapy'-zesty Riesling, with a delicate first hint of ripe nectarine and vineyard peach, though fresh, dry and juicy, on the palate. As already verified on the nose, good fruit concentration, underlined with hints of citrus and a peppery spiciness! Bright elegance; straight body, balanced with a touch of fruity sweetness before the long almost salty finish. A single vineyard Riesling which shows, charming, well drinkable character in its youth as well as aging potential for many years!
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2023 Riesling Steinmassl comes from a stony site of paragneiss. A touch of flinty reduction still hovers above the citric stoniness. Underneath that, a touch of peach shimmers seductively in the distance. Stony clarity and tautness remind me of ice-cold Alpine springs. This is uncompromising, bright, fresh, stony, citric, and beautifully translucent. It's intended for those who hark after a bone-dry, vivid, slender, expressive Riesling. It offers a gorgeously lip-smacking, long lemon finish. (Bone-dry)
Range: 94-96 -
James Suckling
Very cool and defined with terrific wet-stone minerality, this is a fantastic introduction to the world of high-end Austrian dry riesling. This is what the somms mean by “Urgestein,” i.e., primary-rock minerality. Extremely delicate white-peach, Amalfi-lemon and lemon-balm aromas. Really long and precise finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
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.