Stadlmann Taiskirchen Thermenregion
Johann Stadlmann is in the little town of Traiskirchen, ten or fifteen minutes or so south of Mödling. This was once upon a time the main route south from Vienna to the resort and Kur Ort town of Baden. Thirsty Viennese still visit to pick up their favorite local wines, or to go to the Heuriges and restaurants that are everywhere in the region (though mostly in Gumpoldskirchen, the most famous and loveliest of the villages in the Thermenregion). Stadlmann's vineyards are scattered in both communes. On my most recent visit, I was able to see them, and visit the lovely little hill of Mandel-Höh, literally the high place where almond trees grow. This vineyard produces Stadlmann's best wine and the most famous in the region. From it, you can look directly west to the Wienerwald, the Vienna Woods, the last escarpment, heavily wooded, of the Alps. It looks amazingly similar to Burgundy, or Alsace, with the vineyards on the last slopes.
One hundred years ago, the Thermenregion (Thermal Region) was the best-known wine area in Austria, a playground for princes and their mistresses, for the art world of Vienna, and for 'society'. Towns such as Gumpoldskirchen and Baden (not to be confused with Baden Baden in Germany) and Bad Vöslau were world famous. Fashion changed, of course, as it always does. But in 1985, the Austrian wine scandal pretty well leveled this area. I won't say the vintners have been slow to recover; but at least the image has lagged behind the other prestige districts. This is a shame, because the Thermenregion produces wines unlike any others in Austria or the world, and you should know about them.
It is the home to two grape varieties that exist nowhere else, Rotgipfler and Zierfandler. These grapes and the wines made from them are the reason I decided to spend some time prospecting in the region. A year ago, I was served blind an exquisite wine that was like nothing else I had tried. At a loss, I guessed it to be a magnificent 10 year-old Grüner Veltliner (It was paired with a superb one from Knoll). But I was wrong; it was a Zierfandler from the '90s, and was the absolute winner of the evening.
Zierfandler and Rotgipfler are very old varieties. One thought is that they originated in Italy, and wandered north into Austria in the dim and distant past. A story I heard, which is delightful, though probably apocryphal, is that two vines, one red and one white, the white being Zierfandler, were taken to California in the 19th Century. The white one didn't make it, but its name, somewhat garbled, went over to the red, and thus we have Zinfandel. However it all happened, the two grapes were popular 150 years ago, but slowly were replaced by others, so that now only about 240 hectares total for both grapes survive, and those almost entirely are planted in the Thermenregion
So how would I describe them? Rotgipfler appears to be the juicier variety, with more fruit and a little more heft. It's not lavish, or tropical, but it does have size and body and very sweet fruit. It can be rather exotic, with substantial body. It is not particularly acidic. When well made, it is a wine that will turn your head, maybe induce a double take. I find it delicious and always interesting. There are sweet versions, which can be very good, and occasional dessert wines as well. So far, the best of these that I've tasted come from the other grape, Zierfandler. This is a far more minerally grape, with higher acidity, and a zesty, slightly limey quality. At the moment, my tendency is to say it is the somewhat 'better' grape, with a relation to Rotgipfler similar in kind to Riesling and Grüner Veltliner. But they are both grapes with character, and more importantly, with staying power and the ability to evolve and improve in the bottle. They make a wonderful addition to the table
From my still relatively superficial knowledge of the area, it appears as if Stadlmann is the King, at least of Zierfandler ('Mister Zierfandler', as he is known in Austria), if not of both. Behind the rather drab entrance on the main street of Traiskirchen is a modern, elegant winery and sometimes Heurige (it's only open during part of the Summer), where you can sit outside and drink the fabulous wine with simple food (though having had lunch twice there makes me think that Michaela Stadlmann probably can cook up a storm). I was dazzled by the 2004s, and if anything, am even more so with the 2005s.
I should mention that the Stadlmanns produce not only the two signature grapes, but also some Muscat, Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, and the red St. Laurent. The Muscat I purchased in 2005. We'll see about some of the others in the future.
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Gebeshuber Gumpoldskircher Thermenregion
The name of the winery is Spätrot; the name of the family is Gebeshuber. Späatrot-Gebeshuber is in Gupoldskirchen, also in the Thermenregion,
and the winery has a fascinating and complex history. It is in the heart of the Thermenregion, in what once was the most famous wine village in Austria, Gumpoldskirchen. A lovely little village less than a half an hour south of Vienna, it is packed with wineries and Heuriges (the wonderful little taverns that feature the local wine and simple or not so simple food). In the Summer, the place must be like Carmel or Disneyland. Even in May, it's pretty busy. A well-known Co-op in the 19th Century, it was purchased and refurbished by the famous (one could say notorious) Fin de Siecle Mayor of Vienna, Karl Lueger, in 1905. (We could talk a good deal about the beast, interesting though he was - Brahms hated him.) The cellars he built are impressive and quite large (It is here that my selections from all the estates will be consolidated). There is even a funky wine museum. My sense is that the Co-op had been in long decline, probably in part due to the wine scandal in 1985. It was then purchased in 1999 by the Gebeshuber family, Johannes and Johanna (easy to remember those names!). Ambitious and energetic, they have transformed the old winery and have insisted on the highest quality both in the vineyards and the cellar. This is a winery in motion, with energetic young people directing it, but with a fine, old tradition to work from.
However, there have been changes even since I first visited in October, 2005 at this protean winery. Johannes Gebeshuber is altering his focus, beginning with the 2005 vintage. Instead of vinifying Zierfandler and Rotgipfler separately, he has decided to go back to the tradition in these parts, which is blending the two. In the old (and for that matter, not so old) days, when the two grapes were blended, the result was called Spätrot, because the late ripening caused these grapes to blush red, especially on the sun-facing side. This, of course, is a bit confusing, because the winery is called Spätrot too.
At any rate, our good Mr. Stadlmann, down the road in Traiskirchen, says the tradition began because wineries needed a fairly steady crop, so that if there was little of one grape, the other could be blended in and you'd have a more or less constant amount of wine to sell. This is especially important given that there is not much wine to begin with. Gebeshuber says no, there is a reason the two are blended together. You combine the acid and minerality of Zierfandler with the fruitiness and body of Rotgipfler and get a perfect wine. Me, I just sit by the side and watch. I understand each argument, and love the results of both wineries. In fact, this is the best possible solution for us all. We get to have it all. So Johannes has trimmed down his wine production to six wines, three blends of Zierfandler and Rotgipfler, and three blends of St. Laurant and Pinot Noir (with 10% Zweigelt thrown in for spice). Well, and then there are a few oddities and dessert wines that he is willing to make as well. The three blends differ in grape selection, oak, and aging. The oak made me nervous at first, and I had a good chat with Johannes about it. And I will go cautiously in the future with the 'fancier' wines. What can be said, however, is that this winery is, in some ways, the most exciting winery of my portfolio, both for what it is now and for what it surely will become.
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Mariell Großhöflein Neusiedlersee-Hügelland
Mariell is located in Neusiedlersee-Hügelland, not far from Heidi Schröck, but away from the Neusiedlersee and up against a low range of hills called the Leithagebirge. Großhöflein is virtually a suburb of Eisenstadt. Those of you who love the music of Haydn will recognize that town as the seat of the Esterházy family, and where Haydn lived and worked for many years. History is everywhere here, and vines are grown as well.
The winery itself is down the hill from the main road into Eisenstadt, and, like so many Austrian estates, shows little more than a simple facade. But once the great doors are opened, there is a large courtyard, with rooms on either side, and the old winery in the back. In good weather, there is much outdoor living, and in fact, we had lunch there, under an umbrella, with various animals coming up to check us out. Through the door in the rear, you walk out to vineyard land, and one of their best sites, the Haussatz (Blaufränkisch). Then there is a brand new building, very modern in style, which is the new cellar. Always , in Austria, there is this combination of very old with ultra modern. The vineyards themselves, for instance, have dated records going back to 700 AD, and the individual names back to the 16th Century.
Richard and Gabi Mariel (they spell their name with one 'l', though the winery has two ? don't ask) run this small (7.5 hectare) estate, and produce a little more than 3000 cases a year. 30% is white wine (Welschriesling, Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer), and 65% is red ( Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt and Pinot Noir, with a little Cabernet Sauvignon, used for blending. 5% is for dessert wines. They also make Schnaps (in fact the official name of the winery is Wein und Schnaps Mariel). Richard is an energetic man, almost constantly in motion. My sense is that he has a good, if hearty sense of humor. He seems very much a man of the earth (the photo gives you an idea).
To begin with, I thought to bring in the two most important red wine grapes of Austria, Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch. There are also wonderful Pinot Noirs waiting in the wings. The soil here is mostly chalk and sandy loam with a number of named vineyards recognized for their outstanding quality. It's a bit bewildering at first, exploring new areas and discovering hitherto unknown little corners of the world, but I have to say it is also heartening. Every discovery I make, or that someone who has made before and introduces me to, is a sign that there is something right about the world, in spite of all our troubles, that there are people tending small plots of land and releasing what that land has to say in wine. The style here is not to make tannic monsters; rather to make supple wines that are good at the table and can develop for a number of years.
I visited Mariell in October of 2005, and, though I loved the wines, felt a bit hesitant about bringing in a red wine estate. After all, my business has been mostly about whites, with a few reds thrown in as a soupçon. But several things are happening at once. First, Austria's reds can be really wonderful. The quality has improved geometrically since I first started visiting. And secondly, you have noticed, and are buying these wines. Third, the prices are very attractive for wines of this quality. If you've not yet sampled Austrian reds, this is a very good place to start.
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Pollerhof Röschitz Weinviertel
Poller is in Röschitz in the Weinviertel.
The Weinviertel (Wine Quarter) is a somewhat nebulous area that covers most of the northeast corner of Austria. In it, there are islands of wine country, but it is not anything like the other regions. It's a wonderful area to drive through, rural, even bucolic, and very peaceful. The gentle rolling hills, the brilliant fields of rape seed (for Canola oil), stands of trees, and rather broad vistas, make it a place I'd like to hunker down in, and just hang out, without telephone or television, a kind of temporary paradise. I suspect that in time it will be further subdivided. Poller is not far from a number of other very good wineries, such as Zull, whose wines I have always admired, and often carried. This is an area where good values can be found, but there is a lot of ambition as well.
The Pollers clearly are interested in making more than just 'good value'. This is another winery I visited in the autumn of 2005, and loved, though I didn't think the time was quite right. It certainly is now. Pollerhof is located way up north, not far from the Czech border, in rolling hill country. The little town of Röschitz seems more a farm town than a wine town, though there is a Winzergasse, where the winery is, and a very narrow Kellergasse, where the old cellar is, and where I have tasted the wines. The little building looks out over some of Erwin's vineyards and to the hills where the best vineyards are. It is wonderfully pastoral and seemingly remote from the greater world of wine. But this is deceptive. There is a small stage at one end of the room, and plays and readings are put on in the summer. Erwin's companion, Matäa, works at Bründlmayer, drives in every day to Langenlois, about ¾ of an hour or so. So this little winery is pretty well connected, and for me is almost ideal.
The estate has been around in one form or another since the beginning of the 20th Century. Beginning in 2005 Pollerhof began to work organically and will be certified in abiout 5 years.
Erwin has managed it since 1992. It is now about 15 hectares. White wine is the main thing here: Grüner Veltliner, Gelber Muskateller, Malvasia (here known as Frühroter Veltliner), Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Welschriesling, Rivaner, and Sauvignon Blanc round out an impressive collection. In red, there is Zweigelt, Blauburger (this is not Pinot Noir, but a very different, and quite delicious grape), along with small quantities of Gamay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Blauer Portugieser. In all, this is a winery with many treasures. I was too late to get anything other than Veltliners and a little bit of the Blauburger, but that, I'm sure, will change.
Adding to the interest of the winery is the package. You'll get a kick out of the label, which shows, if I remember correctly, Erwin's grandfather, or possibly great grandfather, standing outside of his Weinstube in the early part of the 20th Century. Add to that the decision to use glass corks for most of the wines, and you have that typical Austrian mix of extreme modernity and an almost folksy traditionalism. A close inspection of the vineyards showed interesting soil, and the sensitivity to pay attention to it. In fact, this was probably my most enjoyable visit: interesting country, lovely people, an invitation, which sadly I had to take a rain check on, to the local brew pub, (beer is a very good idea after a day of wine tasting) and really splendid wines at more than fair prices ? what more could one ask?
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Ott Feursbrünn Wagram
The last couple of years I have driven from my tastings in Germany (and from Walter Strub's house) directly to Austria. It is about a seven hour drive and not unpleasant, forming a kind of one day break from my rather intense tasting schedule. I usually arrive in Vienna, then drive south to Mödling. I check into the hotel, stretch a little, maybe take a short walk, and then trot down to the little outdoor café of the hotel, which is on the main street of the old town, now a pedestrian zone, so there are no annoying cars going by, just locals taking their late afternoon promenade. If it's warm, people will be nibbling on ice cream cones. There is a relaxed, Gemütlich quality in the air. It's just different from Germany. And for me, I'm looking forward to my first Grüner Veltliner. So I flop down at the little table with my fellow travelers, and order a glass. The first time I did this, I thought the wine was delicious and amazingly good. I asked the waiter what it was, mightily impressed by the quality. He brought out the bottle. It was Ott. Who's he, I asked my Austrian friend, Peter, whose two boys were playing in the fountain next to us and beginning to get seriously wet. It's awfully good, this wine, I said. No surprise, said Peter. Ott's one of the best in Austria. Why haven't I heard of him? I said. Peter shrugged his shoulders. Which is why Mr. Ott became a prime destination when I began to think about direct importing.
It looks as though I caught a tiger by the tail with Bernard Ott. Suddenly, in Austria, the man's name is on everybody's lips, he is the hottest thing since Schnitzel, his round, cheerful, face is appearing on magazine covers, featured in articles and, for all I know, is the star in the hottest Austrian television series, and thus it is a challenge even to get his wines. I ordered 150 cases of one of them, and got exactly 15. And so it went up and down the line. So there's a good news/bad news deal here. On one hand, everybody in Austria recognizes how great the winery is, and you will have a chance to find out yourselves. On the other hand, you will have to hurry and be content with tiny quantities. I sense that this winery could become my Willi Schaefer, and amounts may in the future have to be allocated. The other possibility, of course, is that, as time goes by, I will move up the list of those asking for wine, and Bernard will let me buy more. We'll see. Either way, if you have any interest in Grüner Veltliner at all, this is the place to start.
Wagram-Donauland is the Austrian area directly east of the Kamptal and just north of the great river as it flows eastwards towards Vienna and beyond. The Wagram, as best as I can understand, is a word referring to the old river bed and the shoreline, really more or less a small cliff, that parallels the river between four and eight kilometers north of it. You can drive along the base of this cliff for a number of miles. To the south is a flat plain leading to the river; to the north, once you ascend the cliff, is hill country. The vineyards extend from just above the cliff and into the hills behind. Most of the soil is loess (löß) and thus perfect feeding ground for Grüner Veltliner. Bernard Ott is a Veltliner specialist. It accounts for 95% of his production. It is his passion and obsession. It is also the basis of his very considerable reputation in Austria.
This year, like Johannes Hirsch, Bernard is going bio-dynamic. It is a big commitment, and a serious one, but I sense a great peace in both men. Both say they are in the vineyards more, and that's where they want to be. Bernard also has a field of apricot trees, and makes the best jam you could imagine. I think the rest of the fruit becomes Marillen Schnapps, perhaps going to his close friend, Hans Reisetbauer, possibly the best Schnapps (Eau de Vie) maker in Europe. The winery is fairly large, as these things go, at 22 hectares (he wants to go up to 30), and is concentrated on a few top vineyards, all of which I visited. Everything is made in stainless steel; there is no wood anywhere to be seen. Bernard is a 4th generation wine maker; he took over in 1993. All wines are bottled in screw caps and the package and labeling are elegant. Slightly shy, at least around me, he moves quite gracefully for a big man, but word has it that he is a serious party animal.
Looking at him, you might think he would fit pretty well as Right Guard for the Colts. Don't know about his footwork of course, but the size alone… But 'Bubba' Ott is a wine guy, with a lot of ideas about his beloved Veltliner. So what are they like? I was impressed enough to compare them with Schloß Gobelsburg - they are that good. But totally different. Whereas Gobelsburg's wines caress you, Ott's seem to be made of sterner stuff. These are wines of structure. They have power, but not the lavish and hauntingly seductive power of Gobelsburg. No, these show all their bones.
The Veltliners are designated in interesting ways. Am Berg, is the basic Veltliner, which comes from a significant vineyard just north of the old Wagram. It is surprisingly not easy to get, and with the 2006 vintage, down some 40% or more from the already small 2005 vintage, it looks like I will not get any at all this year. Rosenberg is his best vineyard, though the regular wine is made from young vines and the less important sections of the vineyard. Faß 4 is actually from 5 small parcels on the edge of the Rosenberg. 90% of this wine goes to restaurants, only a little being available. Der Ott is from the Spiegel vineyard. This is a somewhat heftier Veltliner, and was my personal favorite of the bunch, at least initially. The Rosenberg Reserve is his signature wine, the powerhouse wine of the assortment. This is the wine the Austrian Press went mad for, so I am lucky to get what I got. Bernard makes a little Riesling and a little Sauvignon Blanc; and I usually get a small amount of each, most being sold to my retail clients. I am excited and honored to be able to sell Bernard's wines. I think you will be dazzled by their quality.
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Stefan Bauer Königsbrunn Wagram
Wagram-Donauland is a unique area just east of the Kamptal, and south of the Weinviertel. The Wagram itself is a cliff-like formation, maybe 50-100 feet high that goes east-west, paralleling the Donau (Danube) anywhere from 1 to 10 miles north of it. In fact it is the old shoreline, cut by the river, and then abandoned, as the river moved south east towards what is now Vienna, and then beyond. The cliffs are loess (löß), cut into by erosion. There are a whole string of attractive towns along the base of the cliffs, many of them with the Austrian word for Spring (Brunn) attached at the end. Thus Feuersbrunn (Ott), Engelmannsbrunn, and Königsbrunn (Bauer). It is becoming a vacation area, a place for bicycle touring, and, suddenly, a center for some of the most interesting wineries in the country. The Wagram is now officially a district, and has several 'star' estates, the most famous, and 'hottest' being our own Mr. Ott. But Fritz Salomon, Fritsch, and young Stefan Bauer (be careful - there are several Bauers in the area - Stefan is our man) all have high reputations.
Where there's loess, there's Veltliner, so not surprisingly, Stefan has a full compliment of Veltliners. But first, he said (and he is a very young, rather serious man, with soft eyes though he looks more like a linebacker - get him on the same team with Ott), we must visit the Wagram itself, stand on the cliff edge, sniff the soil, see the vines planted on terraces, and, most importantly view the Beenenfressers. As I pondered what this might mean, I slowly translated and, well, been eaters? No...aha, Bee Eaters. Of course, the wonderful, colorful African bird that mates in Southern Europe (I do know a little something about birds, and have a guide to European varieties). They live, he said, in holes in the cliffs, which they dig out themselves, going back 2-3 feet(!). These beautiful birds, yellow and blue, and red, and green, rarely come so far north, but the loess terraces are perfect for them and they are the symbol of the Wagram. With that, Stefan brought out his bulky binoculars, pointed, and, lo, there was the miraculous bird sitting on a wire. Quite sizeable, it then took off and, while I was tracking it, did a number of loops and Immelmann turns, and captured a large bumble bee, and, gulp, it was gone. You see, Stefan said triumphantly, Beenenfressers!
Above the cliffs are fields, grasses, rape seed (brilliant yellow in season) and then more vineyards going up the hills behind. Back at the winery, we settled down to try the wines. Like Ott, Stefan works clean and reductively. All the wines are screw caps (Stelvin) and Veltliner accounts for 60% of the production (8 hectares). None of his wines have been imported into the U.S. until now. The style is reductive, that is, you do everything you can in the vineyard to produce healthy and ripe grapes, working as cleanly as possible. Then, you do as little as you can in the cellar, the idea being everything you do there makes the wine less good.
What follows are some notes from my first visit, in May 2007. We began with the 2006 Grüner Veltliner, Bromberg. It's sensational. Clear, fairly light (12.5% alc.) and bright, this is classic, green bean Veltliner, the kind of wine that makes you thirsty, and hungry. Interestingly, he bottles as needed, the last bottling, what we will get, in July. The 2006 Grüner Veltliner 'Wagram' is more elegant and has a fine minerality. Not in the least heavy, rather quite lively and pretty. Soil is all loess and chalk, flavors classic. The 2006 Grüner Veltliner Steinagrund is the powerhouse of the group. But it is not really that big. There is a lovely sweetness of ripe fruit (not of sugar) and elegance to it. I'm reminded a little of Schloß Gobelsburg's Renner - it's that good. Well, of course, there's Riesling too, and I was beginning to feel a little blasé about Riesling when this 2006 Riesling was poured. Grown on loess soil, this is a fruit bomb. Utterly heavenly nose, of pears and freesias. Imagine, I wrote, a Mosel with all of its beauties, dry and fairly powerful, Smaragd style. A combination that is staggering. I wrote this wine to be the most purely beautiful Riesling on the trip. Maybe not the greatest, but a wine to suddenly remind you how great this grape can be, why it really is the King of grapes. The 2005 Zweigelt is yet another example of how to do it right. A plum-like Zweigelt, this wine is just as juicy and fruity as you could want. Very clean, but with real complexity too. Example A of why I love Zweigelt. With the 2004 Herbst Freude, we come to Stefan's favorite wine. Actually the name does not mean Herb Freud, the younger brother of Sigmund, and related, by marriage, to Sherlock Holmes; no, it means the joy of the harvest. And this big, impressive red should give plenty of joy. 50% Zweigelt and 50% of our new friend (see Poller), Blauburger. Aged in barrique 6 months, this wine definitely shows some oak. But the fruit of these two grapes is so delicious, that it is only intensified by the oak, not made muddy or woody. I absolutely loved this wine and can hardly wait to serve it to my Austria wine-knowledgeable friends, who will puzzle over it mightily, but drink it down so fast that I might have to open another bottle. No. Maybe I should just serve it to my poet friends. They will appreciate it even more, and besides, they (and I) can actually afford it.
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Mantlerhof Brunn im Felde Kremstal
Having planned to see Sepp Mantler anyway, I was not overly surprised to learn that he and Terry Theise had parted company. I was grateful, when I did learn of it, that Terry told me it was fine for me to work with him if I wished: colleagues, not competitors, a very good idea. I'm not quite sure why it never seemed to work with Terry. I've always loved the wines, and have offered them to you (there are still a few older wines available, see the inventory). In Austria, Sepp is not only one of the most well liked vintners, he is also one of the most respected. Long famed for his magnificent Roter Veltliner, he has built a very high reputation with them and with his Grüner Veltliners and Rieslings. From what I can tell, in the Kremstal, he is second only to Martin Nigl, and that's high praise. Either way, I was delighted to visit him, and hopeful I would love the wines. This was our last visit, and frankly, we were a bit tired. 60 wineries in a month are plenty. Expecting a normal tasting, we arrived around 10am, thinking maybe a couple of hours, but no, this is Austria, and one of the friendliest people in the world. We had to visit the winery cellar, up in the loess slopes, there find an appropriate old wine to try; we had to visit the vineyards themselves, and get the full guided tour. We talked about many things. We were invited to lunch, in the Wachau, at Knoll's Heurige-Restaurant. We left at around 5pm.
Sepp is a wonderful host, a thoughtful man, and has almost 40 years of experience to draw upon. He began poking about in the winery with his father in the late sixties, and more or less took over about ten years later. His father was a classmate of Willi Bründlmayer Sr. and he with Willi Jr. There is a close relationship there, and with Emmerich Knoll, also a class mate. But he also told us that his wife's Great, Great, Great Grandfather first planted grapes here in 1805. The production is 47% Grüner Veltliner, 25% Riesling, 10% Roter Veltliner, and the rest with various grapes, Muskateller, Merlot, Neuburger, Chardonnay and more that I've forgotten. Sepp is the kind of fellow who wants to show you how wines age, especially those from poor or mediocre vintages. So we started off with a 1981 Veltliner Kabinett from the Spiegel. This wine was utterly fabulous, a lanolin-coconut nose, light, clean and pure. He says that neither acidity nor alcohol determine aging ability, only ripeness (though his definition of ripeness, I suspect, is not simply more is riper). Sepp is now working Organic, and, like Poller, it will take a few years before that is official. Though he has many different wines, I decided to pick six to begin. Half of them have screw caps (Stelvin), and half cork.
A few years ago, I remember visiting on a warm spring day with a group of people, organized by Terry Theise. We tasted the wines and had a tremendous lunch, typically Austrian. The Hof, like many here, has a severe outside facade, but then opens into a large open area, with a garden, and with buildings on either side, house and winery. It's a little like a pueblo, a kind of mini village behind the high closed doors. The place seemed idyllic, the wines were lovely. None of us could know that not long after, the tiny Kamp, a minor stream that flows from the north into the Danube, would completely flood the broad valley, and especially down in Brunn im Felde. Sepp had only a few hours to get everything as high up as possible when the flood came. It rose eight feet or so in the house. The second floors were spared, barely, but it was a disaster, and the Mantlers were among the hardest hit. You can hardly tell now. Sepp shrugs and says that is the life of a farmer.
A general definition of his wines would be that he likes extract. The wines can have elegance and structure; in fact, they always have that, but what immediately impresses you is their flavors, and the intensity of those flavors. In that, he has more in common with the Wagram people, as opposed to Nigl, or Geyerhof. We often speak of elegance and style, but surprisingly rarely about flavors. If you want to find out what the grapes really taste like, Mantler is a very good place to start. Though these wines are not reductive in style; rather they are vinous. They fill your mouth with flavor. They are, in some ways the direct opposite of the Summerer style. The good news is that you don't have to choose between them - you can have both.
What follows are some tasting notes from my first visit here, at least as Sepp's importer.
2006 is a superb vintage here. Oddly, though, the simple Riesling and Veltliner were disappointing, a fact that Sepp readily admitted. They are simply too acidic, and perhaps a bit green. 2006 is a vintage that demands a certain level of ripeness, and the light wines really didn't work. No such problem attended the 2006 Grüner Veltliner Lößterrassen. Chosen as the featured wine for the Vienna Art Festival, I managed to secure only a small amount of it, and was happy for that. The wine is fairly rich, with classic Veltliner green bean spiciness. You could hang out with the scent of the wine all day, real aroma therapy, that nose. The finish is long and true. The 2006 Grüner Veltliner Mosburgerin is from a newly purchased vineyard. This vineyard produced Walter Buchegger's best Veltliner. And the wine is sensational, with a floral nose, typical of the vintage, and a wonderful sweetness of flavor. This is a fabulous Veltliner, one of the best of the offering, again, comparable to the best of Gobelsburg. The 2006 Grüner Veltliner Spiegel is the big boy of the collection. I wrote that this wine was almost pure scent, though a touch more restrained than the Mosburgerin. It will need time to integrate its very sizable flavors. These three Veltliners are probably the finest I've ever tried from this winery. Sepp (by the way, 'Sepp' is a kind of nick-name for Joseph) is known in Austria as the maker of the best Roter Veltliner in the country. This is an old, even ancient grape, which bears no relation whatsoever to Grüner Veltliner. It is difficult to describe. Terry once said he thought Roter Veltliner tasted a little like Grüner Veltliner after 5 years of aging. That's gets near it, as long as you recognize that the flavors are completely different. Apparently, the grape is a pain to work with, which is one reason you see it only rarely these days. I have purchased another Roter Veltliner from Setzer, an excellent estate which Terry brings in, specifically to show the difference between a reductive wine maker (Setzer) and one who is not (Mantler). This 2006 Roter Veltliner Reisenthal has tremendous sweet fruit, is faintly bready, like a fine Champagne. Sepp feels it is his most expressive since the 1999. It must be tasted, better yet, drunk, to be believed. The 2006 Riesling Tiefenthal comes from a vineyard with very old clones of Riesling, the vines around 35 years old. This is a spicy Riesling with a citrus blossom nose. In the mouth Riesling's innate minerality comes through. I wrote that is was as though some of the Nahe had been filtered through Austrian vineyards. It's a lovely wine. The 2006 Riesling Wieland is the Smaragd of the assortment. It reminded me of Wachau Riesling in its body and texture. With excellent acidity, intense stoniness, this is a classic and fitting conclusion to a great tasting.
Summerer Langenlois Kamptal
The town of Langenlois could be called the hub of much of the wine world in Austria. About an hour from Vienna, it is just down the road from the Wachau and the Kremstal to the west, and just east is the Wagram and the beginnings of the Weinviertel. It is in a kind of bowl in the Kamptal. (Tal, remember, means 'valley', and that valley, and the little stream, the Kamp, which flows through it, seems utterly removed from the immense flood that half-drowned a number of the wineries I deal with a few years ago - see Hirsch and Mantler.) It's an odd little town, surrounded on all sides by vineyards. There are few trees in the town, so that, if you walk onto the main square in mid-day in Summer, it feels almost like one of those desert towns in the Mohave. I've never felt quite comfortable there, even though a number of my favorite wineries are either in or else around the town. Bründlmayer, Gobelsburg, Hirsch (just outside), Hiedler, Loimer - all are part of a thriving wine scene. There is a new, Frank Geary-like (but not by him) wine museum, along with a fancy hotel and restaurant. One evening Willi Bründlmayer (one of the great souls of Austria) took us out to dinner there. The wine cellar is a glass case that one can look in and decide what you want to drink. Willi and I were doing that, and I picked out a wine from a producer unknown to me out of curiosity. There was also a slightly older wine from Summerer that I thought might be good. I looked at Willi for advice, and he, who is the perfect gentleman and would never say something disparaging about a colleague, paused, and said, very quietly, 'I think the Summerer would be much better'.
Rupert Summerer, and his wife, Elizabeth are young, energetic, and attractive. They live in the center of Langenlois, in a typically old Hof, which they have remodeled and made quite beautiful. They have land in one of my all time favorite vineyards, the Steinmassel (or Steinmassl). One of the cardinal rules, when you're looking for a new estate, is how the whole range tastes, not just the plums. Even though you're only going to buy maybe four or five different wines, it is important that they are all attractive, all desirable. That, if possible, I'd buy every wine tasted if I could. It was like that here. The Rieslings were sleek and perfumed. In a great Veltliner vintage (2004), the Rieslings had nothing to fear. My sense, in fact, is that this is a 'Riesling' estate, in that they have a very special hand with this noblest of all grapes. It will be interesting to see if this continues in the future. And the Veltliners are classic, a little bit of creamed corn along with a fine, peppery base. If anything, they seemed closer to Wachau wines than their neighbors. As usual, this is hardly a 'new' winery - it was founded in 1679, and, if I understood correctly, has been in the same family ever since. 60% of the production is in Veltliner, about 20% in Riesling, and another 20% is red, mostly Zweigelt. The estate has about 20 hectares in production. The winery itself is modern and simple. All wines are bottled with glass corks, which, if you haven't seen them, are very classy looking and quite easy to use. Of my estates, Poller also uses mostly glass closures, and Ott is entirely 'Stelvin' screw caps. The cork industry must be getting nervous - as well they should.
Summerer's wines are crystal clear and clean. The grapes are grown mostly in Urgestein (primary rock), and reveal wines with strong minerality. In style, they are the opposite of Ludwig Hiedler, which is delightful, since they share some of the same vineyards and produce marvelous wine in their very different styles. Kamptal wines generally are broader and more powerful than most Kremstal wines. They can be as burly as the biggest monster from the Wachau, but they seem earthier than their Wachau cousins. But Summerer's wines are clear and a bit austere, unlike many of their colleagues. I have found that they appeal strongly to a particular kind of wine drinker, one who prefers lean wines with substance, and wines that go with food. In that, they are excellent restaurant wines.
Except for the great Heiligenstein vineyard, Summerer's holdings are a list of the finest vineyards in and around Langenlois: Steinhaus, Schenkenbichl and Käferberg for Veltliners, and Steinmassl and Seeberg for Riesling. There are also simpler wines that are quite wonderful, labeled Langenlois and Urgestein. As far as I can tell, this is an estate which is on the upswing, with lovely, young, committed people making better and better wines every year.
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Bäuerl Joching Wachau
I wanted, of course, a Wachau estate. The Wachau continues to enjoy the most prestige, the most sex appeal, and the highest prices of any wine region in Austria. Why this is so is relatively easy to understand. This tiny area along the Danube is extraordinarily beautiful and consequently, a tourist magnet. Only an hour or so from Vienna, it nonetheless feels as though one had stepped into a rural fairyland. With ruined castles, beautiful towns, and plenty of history, this is a great place to visit. Wonderful restaurants and hotels don't hurt. I stay at one of them, the Landhaus Bacher (which has one of the best restaurants anywhere, a fabulous staff, and sweet, unpretentious rooms) and never want to leave.
The brilliant idea of reclassifying wines with those colorful names, Steinfeder, Federspiel, and Smaragd, has stuck in the minds of all of us who are interested in Austrian wine. And then, there is the quality of the wines themselves. Wachau wines have one thing no other region in Austria possesses: an almost slinky, seductive texture. It is almost unmistakable. You feel as though you were on a magic carpet of flavor. The best of them are like great art, seemingly effortless and utterly natural, but at the same time rare and precious, and the product of a tremendous amount of effort and sensitivity, the art that conceals art, as it were.
Most of you know these names: (in no particular order) Hirtzberger, Prager, Alzinger, Nikolaihof, Pichler (F.X. & Rudi), Knoll, Jamek, and several others. We know them, of course, because their wines are excellent. Only problem being, that they are also a bit pricey. Now you can make the point (and I would) that even a $75 Riesling, if comparable to a great white Burgundy (and I think many are) is a pretty fair deal compared to the $125 and more you must pay for that Lafon or Leflaive. I agree, and will continue to promote the great wines from this region. But you can get great Smaragd from great estates for less than that, and I recommend you do so. There are still a few good values in the Wachau, wines of great integrity from small producers. And that's where Mr. Bäuerl comes in.
Bäuerl (a very difficult name for us Yanks to pronounce correctly) is in the little village of Joching, up the street and behind Joseph Jamek. His estate is tiny, only 5 hectares (though he leases 2 more). Though the vineyards overlap, the wines are quite different. Whereas Jamek is elegant, subtle, and fine, Bäuerl's are lusty and earthy, with plenty of stuffing. They are not the most elegant wines in the world, but they give you the goods, and are just packed with flavor. Young Johann Bäuerl (can he be thirty yet?) is tall and thin, very boyish, and rather shy. Perhaps that is due to his very rudimentary English? His German is idiomatic and strongly accented, and not easy for me to follow. His hands, which are large and expressive, are farmer's hands, see the photograph. He has never exported before and is not well-known, yet. But it is clear that a fire burns in him. He is ambitious, wants to ascend to the front rank of Wachau growers, and with his energy and seriousness, I'm sure he will. Meanwhile, we have a number of lovely wines at very reasonable prices.
His best vineyard is the Pichl Point, which Jamek also has, but there is also the excellent Stein am Rain, Ritzling, and Steinterrassen. Both Riesling and Veltliner are grown in all sites. His Federspiel level wines are perfect for restaurants, exactly what you want with food, not too heavy, but with plenty of flavor. His Smaragd wines have all the power you could ask for, though I'm sensing that Bäuerl prefers wines that are not too alcoholic, so that even though they have a kind of forcefulness to them, they are not ponderous, or thick. That slinky Wachau characteristic is always in evidence.
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