Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
A subtle nose combines fresh pear, ripe Mirabelle plum and fine yeast. The palate unites these but adds a very welcome notion of citrus zest. Bit by bit spicy pepper appears, followed by juicy red apple. The longer you taste, the more is revealed. A wonderfully layered, rounded Grüner.
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James Suckling
Very nicely defined and detailed nose and palate. Tightly coiled with fresh aromas of apples and pears, leading to a pastry-wrapped palate that carries a fresh, smooth grip at the finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
For 50-year-old vines with gravel and loess soils, the 2018 Grüner Veltliner Alte Reben opens with a clear, fresh and slightly flinty bouquet that shows a nice spiciness and nuanced purity without being too demanding. Full-bodied, rich and powerful on the palate, this is a structured and slightly sweetish-tasting Veltliner with charm and grip and an intense and warm finish.
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.
Appreciated for superior wines made from indigenous varieties, Austria should be on the radar of any curious wine drinker. A rather cool and dry wine growing region, this country produces wine that is quintessentially European in style: food-friendly with racy acidity, moderate alcohol and fresh fruit flavors.
Austria’s viticultural history is rich and vast, dating back to Celtic tribes with first written record of winemaking starting with the Romans. But the 20th century brought Austria a series of winemaking obstacles, namely the plunder of both world wars, as well as its own self-imposed quality breach. In the mid 1980s, after a handful of shameless vintners were found to have added diethylene glycol (a toxic substance) to their sweet wines to imitate the unctuous qualities imparted by botrytis, Austria’s credibility as a wine-producing country was compromised. While no one was harmed, the incident forced the country to rebound and recover stronger than ever. By the 1990s, Austria was back on the playing field with exports and today is prized globally for its quality standards and dedication to purity and excellence.
Grüner Veltliner, known for its racy acidity and herbal, peppery aromatics, is Austria's most important white variety, comprising nearly a third of Austrian plantings. Riesling in Austria is high in quality but not quantity, planted on less than 5% of the country’s vineyard land. Austrian Rieslings are almost always dry and are full of bright citrus flavors and good acidity. Red varietal wines include the tart and peppery Zweigelt, spicy and dense Blaufränkisch and juicy Saint Laurent. These red varieties are also sometimes blended.