Winemaker Notes
It’s not often that a young Austrian Gruner Veltliner reminds you of Burgundy, though mature examples often do. The ripe-mirabelle, candied-pineapple and dried-herb aromas are married to a palate that’s rich and creamy. But beneath the waterline this is also a highly structured wine. Rather imposing finish, suggesting excellent aging potential.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A beautiful, elegant, full-bodied version, with seamless integration to the succulent rich apple, white tea and jasmine flavors. Builds in concentration on the silky, lush palate, though this doesn't feel heavy. Reveals smoky minerality and hints of bitter almond skin and toast on the long finish. Delicious. Drink now through 2030.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The intensely yellow-colored 2020 Ried Lamm 1OTW opens with an intense and elegant, refined bouquet of ripe and concentrated fruits intermingled with spicy iodine notes of crystalline rocks. On the palate, this is a dense and very elegant Gruner Veltliner with fine and crystalline acidity and a long elegant finish. The Lamm has more flesh and texture than the Grub as well as more suppleness and power, but it's also more saturating in 2020. Definitely a wine to age, though. 13% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in September 2022. Best After 2022. Rating: 93+
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.