The Weinviertel is traditionally the first wine-growing region whose new vintage we take a closer look at in the Austria in Focus series. This is mainly due to the fact that most Weinviertel wines are bottled early and are also intended for early consumption. Of course, there have always been exceptions, but in recent years, more and more wineries have started to produce wines with more character and complexity, which are not only released later, but also need some time to mature before they show what they are made of. Many of these wines are clearly still missing from this summary of the first tastings from the Weinviertel. We will present them, as far as we receive the samples, at a later date.
2015 is a strikingly homogeneous year. This is particularly evident in the simpler wines, which have rarely been so uniformly good. The Weinviertel is the only area where only Grüner Veltliner is classified as DAC. This proves to be consistent, especially in difficult years, because Veltliner then almost always proves to be the most reliable variety. In good years, however, other varieties are at least its equal. Hardly any other region in Austria has such a great topographical diversity. So it is not surprising that, depending on the area, white Burgundy varieties, Riesling, Muskateller, Traminer or even red wines can find the best conditions. At least when the weather plays along, as was the case in 2015, at least where the hail did not cause any major devastation.
Grüner Veltliner and Weinviertel DAC
Veltliner lovers should be quite happy with the new vintage. Only those who particularly appreciate the very crisp, still slightly green style will miss the 14s a little. What was green in 2015 was also thin and flat, not a trace of crisp; but as soon as the grapes were ripe, the wines almost always already have a certain melt even at rather low alcohol levels. Many Veltliners are already easily accessible, but many of them should benefit more than usual from some maturity; some are even equipped for a long life.
The very light versions up to a maximum of 12% alcohol are rather underrepresented this year. The best wines in this category are the fresh DAC as well as the rather cool "Saazen" from Maria Faber-Köchl, the polished, herbaceous and delicately red-berry "Im Bnzengraben" from Winzerhof Scheit as well as Hirtl 's very harmonious, lively "Classic".
Among the medium-weight to strong Veltliners, the list of recommendable wines is so long that we have to limit ourselves here to the best (a list with all the wines tasted can be found at the end of this article). Right at the top is Pfaffl's exceptionally dense and juicy "Hommage", aged in acacia wood, which, despite its power and slight sweetness, seems surprisingly fresh, lively and taut and should definitely mature for a few years. Quite different, but hardly less impressive, are the tightly knit, rather tart, typically vegetal and clearly mineral Schneiderberg by Weinrieder, Schwarzböck 's powerful, yet taut and almost cool-looking "Aichleiten Reserve" and the sweetly juicy, tightly knit and rather salty "Goldjoch", another example by Pfaffl. Much leaner, but no less complex, is the elegant, fine-juicy, grippy and very mineral "Reflexion" by Johannes Zillinger, one of the most drinkable wines of the whole tasting, but at the same time good for several years of maturity. This is followed by the again quite powerful reserves "8000" by Setzer as well as "Sätzen" by Schwarzböck, the former rather on the sweet and melting side, the latter rather tart and cooler, then Haindl-Erlacher with its very juicy, melting and mineral "Alte Reben" and a firmly woven, salty-peppery, grippy DAC, Ludwig Hofbauer's powerful, slightly warm "Heiliger Stein", the bone-dry "Muschelberg Reserve" from Winzerhof Scheit, as well as Julius Klein's very polished, mineral "Wiege".
Among the older vintages, which are only now on sale, the relatively sweet (also labelled as semi-dry), yet densely woven and complex 13 "Privat" from Weinrieder stands out; "Thetys" and "Steinbergen Reserve" from Julius Klein as well as Hirtl's Reserve, all also from 2013, are also convincing.
Riesling and Burgundy varieties
With "Passion", Roman Josef Pfaffl has a new premium Riesling in his programme, which this year immediately takes the top spot among the tasted Rieslings from the Weinviertel: not quite dry, but taut, cool and very mineral, although still rather untouchable at the moment. Some distance behind, but also highly recommendable, are the firm, tart, tobacco "Caro-Line" by Scheit, Julius Klein's ripe, compact, dry "Steinbergen", the tart, grippy "Bockgärten" by Weinrieder as well as Schwarzböck's slightly warm, sweetish, still rather undeveloped "Aichleiten".
Perhaps the greatest wine of the tasting, but at the same time probably also the most difficult and undoubtedly polarising, is Johannes Zillinger's '13 Chardonnay "Numen": cloudy orange in colour, decidedly complex, taut and very grippy due to the abundant tannin, with an almost pungent herbal spiciness, lots of minerality and its very own aromatics. Among the less wild wines, Pfaffl is not to be missed, whose firm, powerful, smoky-woody-spicy, but also decidedly juicy and mineral '13 Rossern Grande Reserve should mature a little more. The tart, nutty '15 Chardonnay by Schwarz and the rather powerful but also polished Chardonnay Sandgrube by Ludwig Hofbauer from the same year are also very good; among the 2015 Pinot Blancs, Johannes Zillinger's elegant, yet quite multilayered and densely structured "Reflexion" and the simultaneously nutty and ripe-fruited, quite salty "Birthal" by Weinrieder with its clear sage aroma stand out positively.
Other white varieties
We were quite taken with Hans Setzer's ripe, grippy 15er Roter Veltliner, which should be good for many years of maturity. Among the aromatic grape varieties, Maria Faber-Köchl's Roter Traminer was pleasing, as was Ludwig Hofbauer's Traminer from the Sandgrube, both from 2015, just like Johannes Zillinger's animating Muskateller "Velue". Zillinger is also ahead in Sauvignon with the 14er "Reflexion", as well as in Welschriesling with its surprisingly persistent "Velue". Both, with their 12% alcohol, should also give a lot of pleasure to light wine drinkers, who might otherwise have been a little short-changed this year. And who - last tip among the whites - should also take a look at the light-footed and yet quite grippy "Mischsatz vom Alten Weingarten" by Norbert Bauer.
Red wines
The Weinviertel is little associated with red wines, although at least Zweigelt is quite widespread here as well. Recently, however, the reds have been receiving much more attention, which is certainly due in no small part to global warming. The pioneer here is undoubtedly Roman Pfaffl, whose red wines already caused astonishment in the wine world 20 years ago and who has been perfecting red winemaking ever since - in the meantime supported by his son Roman Josef.
The perfectionist way of making the wines is perhaps the only thing that could be criticised today, as it often makes the wines seem a little impersonal, at least in their youth. But you should let Pfaffl's red reserves mature anyway, and this year they are once again at the top of the region. They are firm, dense and, for all their power, polished, sometimes almost cool. The flagship "Heidrom" from the 2012 vintage is even more complex and probably also longer-lived than Zweigelt, St. Laurent or the cuvée "Exzellent" - all from 2013 - but the signature is clear and it is up to personal taste which wine one prefers. The only one who can keep up is once again Johannes Zillinger, whose 12er Sankt Laurent is clearly lighter than Pfaffl's reserves, but with its polish, taut structure, tangy juice and saltiness it is a great pleasure - and will certainly be for many years. Zillinger's 2013 Zweigelt is also great fun, as crisp, juicy and elegant as one can imagine the ideal red booze wine to be. Good reds can also be found at Winzerhof Scheit (12er Cuvée "Caro-Line" and Zweigelt "Grande Reserve"), but you should like the somewhat bitter, toasty woody tone that is quite evident in both, or at Julius Klein, who also comes up with a somewhat toasty and bacony Zweigelt (but this time 2013) as well as with a quite juicy and somewhat chocolatey 11er Cuvée "Johannisberg". More reserved, but harmonious, independent and very nice to drink is the 13 "Schrattenthal 9" from Zull, the cuvée "Baldur" from the Sonnenhügel winery from the same year is marmalade-juicy and peppery, and the "Reserve" cuvée from Schwarzböck is once again clearly stronger, somewhat compote, warm in alcohol, but then also polished. The best Pinot Noir of the tasting comes from Christoph Bauer, whose 13er "Gerichtsberg" with its polish, the tart-juicy fruit as well as its typical aromas of dried mushrooms and a little tobacco does credit to the variety in the Weinviertel.
All recently tasted wines of the Weinviertel, including a lot of other highly recommendable examples, can be found under the following links:
Since all Weinviertel wines that are not classified as DAC are only assigned to the region "Lower Austria", it is unfortunately not possible to narrow down the search further here. Therefore, under the following links you will also find occasional wines from other Lower Austrian wine regions, which by chance were tasted during the same period:
Grüner Veltliner Riesling Chardonnay Pinot Blanc Sauvignon Blanc Traminer Muscat Welschriesling Roter Veltliner Red wines