Winemaker Notes
Grapes are selected in September when acidity and maturity have reached the perfect point for the base wine of sparkling production. These grapes are sourced from different southeast facing, chalky parcels that lend the wine freshness and warmth. The harvested grapes are transported in small cases directly into the cellar, where they are very gently and carefully pressed.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Very complex, with a slew of subtle, mature aromas and notes of brioche and tarte tatin. Lots of leesy depth and a wealth of dried pears and candied citrus on the medium-bodied palate, the mousse and lively acidity lifting the long, creamy finish. A cuvee of 40% pinot noir, 30% chardonnay and 10% each of pinot blanc, pinot gris and gruner veltliner. Based on the 2019 vintage, with 45% reserve wines.
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Wine & Spirits
Deep gold, this sparkler emanates a toasty, buttery richness right from the start. A blend of early-picked pinots noir, gris and blanc as well as chardonnay and grüner veltliner from the chalky parcels of the estate, it ferments in stainless steel, then rests for a year in Austrian oak barrels before undergoing a secondary fermentation in bottle. That long, slow process allowed the wine to accumulate a profound depth of flavor. It tastes of buttered toast and apricot jam, of Cognac and button mushrooms, with a little lemon zing. It’s an opulent, elegant sparkler, worthy of lobster with drawn butter or your favorite buttery indulgence.
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Wine Enthusiast
Notes of Golden Delicious apple and rye bread crumb on the nose signal both freshness and autolytic richness. The palate then portrays salty, buttery short crust, still imbued with that apple freshness, set against yeasty texture and depth, pervaded by lemon freshness and enlivened by creamy, fine, salty foam. Gorgeous balance, wonderful freshness, great elegance. Bravo.
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.
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.