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Austria
…so much to cheer about! This compact region has emerged over the past decade as one of the most quality-minded in the world, reflected in its rigorous wine laws. Many estates practice sustainable farming or have embraced biodynamism.
Aside from the reassurance that such rigor holds, the wines are wonderful - superb at every price. Age-worthy, reasonably-priced, food-friendly like none other,
Austrian wines offer a spectrum of flavors and a true sense of place.
Part II….the
Wachau (1400 hectares),
a World Heritage site and the valley of the
Danube produces fantastic, ageworthy Riesling and Grüner Veltliner, some grown on steeply terraced hillsides.
Hot, dry summers and cold winters are moderated by the river.
Cold northern winds cause dramatic differences between day and nighttime temperatures, allowing for acid retention and slow ripening.
The producer association of the Wachau – Vinea Wachau – has created its own classification of the region’s wines: Steinfeder (light-bodied, up to 11% alcohol), Federspiel (medium-bodied, alcohol from 11.5% -12.5%) and Smaragd (full-bodied).
The best wines in the Wachau are the pinnacle of Austrian wine…the mightiest and most profound
– Terry Thiese
Weingut Leo Alzinger
Sleek, clear, winsome yet authoritative wines from the kindly hands of the newest Wachau superstar.
Alzinger’s wines are uniformly threaded into skeins of nuance and even when they’re at their biggest they’re always shapely and lissome. They aren’t delicious because they’re great; they’re great because they’re delicious. Top sites: Loibenberg, Steinertel, Leibenberg
Weingut Josef Jamek
The estate comprises 25 hectares of vineyards which are mainly located in some of the best single vineyard sites of the Wachau, the majority of which are on stone terraces. Primary rock soils are responsible for the incomparable site-specific minerality that characterizes the wines from the Klaus, Achleiten, Liebenberg and Hochrain vineyards.
Nikolaihof Wachau
Organic, bio-dynamic winery whose wines express the earth, the whole earth and nothing but the earth. Nikolaihof’s wines are often incredibly thick, dense and uncompromisingly stony in character.
capable of enthralling development with long aging. JUST GIVE THESE WINES TIME. They’ll do everything for you that great wine can do, if you are patient. Early on you’ll easily see their sheer intensity, but specific details can be lost in a monolith of concentration, an opacity that can be perplexing if you don’t know what’s ahead…..
Top sites: Im Weingebirge, Vom Stein, Steine Hund
Weingut Rudi Pichler
The renowned
Wachau
Valley
, where ancient stone terraces dominate the landscape, is the home of Rudi Pichler. Pichler prefers to call himself a wine caretaker, rather than a winemaker. His focused work in the vineyard translates the unique terroir to the glass.
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