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Synonymous with its racy, dry Grüner Veltliner of definitive quality, the Austrian wine industry was backed into a blind corner in nineteen eighty-five, when German authorities across the boarder began to seize Wachau wines from shelves all over their country for lab testing. The seizure was the result of a suspected ill-conceived plot to compete with the sweet cornucopia of fashionable Teutonic liquid which had for decades captured the hearts of the public abroad. Austrian wine lagged surely behind in the sixties and seventies, but had managed to gain a foothold on market dominated by tooth-rotting examples of liebfraumilch - arguably a more severe crime against humanity.
German authorities tested thirty-two different samples from top winemakers across the boarder and found that the wines had been sweetened with a chemical called diethylene glycol, also found commonly in antifreeze at the time. This was a scandal that was deemed to be so foul, it is still referenced today. It instantly put a halt on the sales of Austrian wine globally, and forced the country back into a reflective period about the future of its wine industry for a good decade stretching into the early nineties. It decimated the reputation of a wine growing nation that had just begun to burgeon - and clearly, decisive action had to be taken to save the small group of very dedicated producers still looking to earn an honest living making their wines.
The solution was oversight, and foundational refocusing on the style of wine that had been made in the country in the decades prior, not enamel-grating sweet wines - but dry white wines of blistering acidity. The Austrian government established a rigorous system of strict testing, much more aggressively quality-driven than any other wine region in the world. This system is called the DAC, Districtus Austriae Controllatus, and today it is as alive as ever, ensuring that Austrian wines truly are the highest quality in the world. This was clearly a solution that really worked to sway global public opinion in favor Austrian wines, as today they are extremely highly praised for their consistency, and commitment to typicity, and style.
The DAC certified and broke down particular regions into subsections. One of these extremely high-quality DAC regions is the beloved Kamptal, a particular gem for lean white wines of incredible structure, and perhaps the most expensive and sought after region in the nation. The bulk of Austria’s wine production is encapsulated around the world’s only wine-producing major city, Vienna. Thirty-five miles northwest, is lovely Kamptal, its vineyard strewn around the steep peaks and narrow crevices of the river Kamp, which winds northward to the centrally-located village of Langenlois, and eventually flows into the Danube.
Oddly enough, two white wines are the focus here. Though Austrian powerhouse,
Zweigelt is certainly the champion red for some high-end producers, it isn’t an officially a sanctioned grape regionally to be labeled with the prestigious Kamptal DAC - they fall into the larger, more all-encompassing regional dislocation of Niederösterreich, the district within which the Kamptal can be found. The only approved varietals for this DAC are Riesling, and Grüner Veltliner. Both of these varietals must be produced bone-dry, never blended, and reach the requisite eleven and a half percent alcohol.
Nearly all DAC regulations, oddly enough, are governed by the seemingly strange attention on alcohol by volume. This is a requisite back to the reputation-ruining scandal mentioned at the beginning of this piece. ABV is an adequate way to ensure that sugar levels, and composition are accurate according to regional typicity. Mercifully, this system also loosens the noose of conformity which can strain producers in other regions subject to this dedicated to quality.
Almost all of the Kamptal region itself is further subdivided into specific vineyards, to glamorize the affability of individual plots, their soils, and the varietal they best serve. Interestingly, in the vein of freedom given wine growers, the delineation of vineyards is not managed by the DAC itself, but the grower’s association, Österreichische Traditionsweingüter (ÖTW), a group of esteemed, elected representative winemakers from the area, members of the guild, and vintners themselves that create unbiased ratings and distinguishing plots, Gebietswein, wine labeled, Kamptal, which can demonstrate the overall appeal of the District; Ortswein, which can show the variation in village subtlety and Reidenwein, the best of the best plots for their varietals. In 2010 the designation Erste Lage, or premier cru, was created to expound praise upon the region’s top vineyards. Today the association is in the midst of devising a list of Grand Cru plots in somewhat of a Burgundian fashion.
Generally the region is known for its Loess soils of inherent quality. Loess is a dust-like airborne deposit of fertile soil generally compacted by antiquity. There are often also outcroppings of gneiss which is suitable for debasing access to water for the vines, creating subtlety, fine minerality, and depth of character. The climate here is a cold continental, interrupted by the microwave-like heat from the Pannonian plain - which is not only significantly warmer, but dry as well. Oppositely, the forested area to the west, Waldwiertel, is a natural source of ripening extension in that its mild, cold breezes act to further develop complexities.
Grapes are strewn about the riverbank on terraced vineyards edging their way beyond eyesight to the crests of hills. Altitudes vary here, but three-hundred meters is not uncommon. Diurnal shift, like in many other regions making fine wines, is a major factor in extending ripening as well. The region sees little rain due to rain shadow from the alps, so all-day sunlight can put a dampener on well-ripened grapes. The grapes are ripened in the hot Austrian sun and warming winds of Pannonia to the east, then cooled in the chilly evenings and mitigating counter breezes from the western forests.
The first growth sites are called Erste Lage here and they are again selected by the ÖTW grower’s association based on merit. Currently there are eighteen sites listen as Erste Lage in the Kamptal, and they have been noted as such since the last reclassification which took place in 2010. All individual single-plot labeled or village bottles must reach an ABV level of twelve and half percent.
Top rated Riesling sites generally fall on the crest and middle traces of the hills, where Grüner Veltliner’s best sites will generally be lower-lying in the valleys towards the alluvial dumping grounds of the river providing more heat and protection from the wind to assist Grüner in even ripening - these sites are generally loess-based and alluvial to the extent that some are based on fertile iron-rich brown Earth. Riesling tends to do best on the looser soils of Loess located mostly on the northern, upper altitude crests.
One of the highest-regarded producers in the Kamptal is the incredible Schloss Gobelsburg, an Austrian castle that has been producing all of the major varietals of the region for a long time, and has always represented the highest level of quality In Austrian wine. They make a really well-balanced Riesling that is certainly full-flavor, bone-dry and delightfully parable. This wine is an excellent gateway into the world of Kamptal Riesling. It opens with plenty of fresh lime, bouts of cut granny smith apple. The minerality represents a solid core of inorganic gravel complimented by silky rich honey and button mushroom aromas.
Dechant is the major red-wine growing vineyard. This is probably because the vineyard is based on deep loess, which is dry and low-lying. It’s easier to ripen red varietals due to excess heat, and sun exposure. The soils are arable and rich in iron. Breezes from the pannonian plan sweep through the Dechant valley. Though a good percentage of red wines are grown here, they are not labeled as grand cru wines on their bottles, seeing as red wine does not meet regional cru bottling standards according to the DAC. That’s why Grüner Veltliner is the king In this vineyard, besides a few vines here or there is the only approved varietal grown in significant quantities here.
Steinmassl is another top quality Erste Lage site with a penchant for Riesling. These are Gneiss soils, covered for this grape. The lite moisture-retaining shards are loosely packed by a coat of dusty loess. The soils are well-draining and rocky, but perfect for keeping rising cool. The shimmering effect of the Gneiss helps to ripen the skins by reflecting light back onto the grapes. This vineyard has a decent altitude at around nine-hundred feet, exposing it to cooling alpine breezes, while allowing for adequate sun exposure.
Perhaps the most famous Erste Lage site is Käferberg. This vineyard is also wit inclined in altitude at nine hundred feet above sea level. The vineyard flanks Langenlois to the north. Conversely, these soils are sandy, and lacking in nutrients with a lower-lying. Then are loose and grainy, somewhat interspersed with loess. The well-drawing nature of sand gives way to and under stone of Gneiss. This site is extremely suitable, and almost entirely devoted to the incredible Grüner Veltliner grapes that it is synonymous with.
Sweet, light, and seriously tempting Käferberg Alte Reben Reserve by producer Rabl is a single-vineyard Erste Lage that won’t break the bank; fortunately, the majority of wines from this region really will offer excellent value. Don’t be put-off by the screw tops. This wine has all of the floral character of a great Grüner Veltliner. White lily and peonies create the curtains that open the show revealing green apple, and wet slate character. There are some mandrake flavors and a bit of chamomile and mandarin orange citrus notes - but this wine is light and acetic, with a cold core of minerality.
That's All,
~K
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