Austria’s spectacular 2021s

The altitude here means it is picked late: one part at the end of October, and the other parts on November 10th and 11th. The resulting wine is so complex and intense, with an explosive palate of apricots, sea spray, and so much freshness. This is incredibly ripe, but is impeccably balanced with intense acidity. It’s a spectacularly pure, long, wine: one of the best we’ve tried this year.

From the bottom of the Kollmitz hill, Spitaler is a single vineyard, and this cuvée comes from just the old vines here, which were planted in 1962. This is so energetic with dark spice and an earthy character. This has so much phenolic freshness, with lots of intense, creamy fruit. Voluminous in the mouth, it all comes back together on the finish.

Some of the vines here were planted in the 1950s, with a small portion in 2002. This is intense and stony, with more vibrant acidity than the Spitaler. It’s more angular in the mouth, with lots of wild flowers and plenty of nervy acidity. It needs time, but when it comes together it will be spectacular.

This comes from mineral vineyards, not from Loess. It’s delicate, with notes of iodine and then a floral element. The finish spreads out and then there’s a bitterness here, too. This is explosive and very pure. This is a spectacular Grüner. So much oyster shell on the finish, and brilliantly balanced. Love this: very driven style.

This is the vineyard up the Spitzergraben, the coolest site, on the corner of the valley, where the cool air comes down from the plateau. Very precise and quite savoury on the nose. There’s notes of mint and plenty of stone fruit, and then an orange blossom character, too. So much vibrancy here: this has so much acidity, but nothing sticks out. This has everything dialled up.

Seven different batches, then blended together. Have vines from bottom to very top of hill. Bottom much riper typically, while the top is focussed. Together they are greater than the sum of its parts. The nose here is beguiling. Quite restrained, there’s some floral and spice, while the palate is concentrated and powerful. It fills the palate, with weight and texture, this is muscular and complex, and spectacularly long. Oyster shell and spice and pure fruit. Astounding. But rare.

The ‘baby Heiligenstein’ is astonishing in 2021. There’s incredible richness to the fruit, and there’s a weight and density here. The palate has a purity and detail to the yellow fruit, and there’s a texture and expressiveness that goes on and on.

This comes from the vineyard at the bottom of the Gaisberg hill, where there’s Loess that comes down from that vineyard. It’s so intense, fine-boned and beautiful, with lots of minerality on the finish. A beautiful expression of Grüner.

The estate’s highest plots - 350m altitude. Lighter soil, and picked two weeks later than the other Grüner plots. Very cool and floral, spicy with orange blossom. Smokiness and coolness, and then a herbal character. Lots of energy here, this is so long and finely judged.

Incredibly poor soils, where slate starts after just 50cm of hummus. Really savoury and intense. So much grip here, this is wonderfully balanced and pure, with incredible intensity. Seems to fan out on the finish, floral, ripe stone fruit and then lots of crushed stones and loads of salinity, too. So powerful, and mineral. Bitterness on the finish - this is spectacularly cool and suave.

This goes into the estate’s oldest acacia barrel, that’s 40-50 years old, and the vineyard itself is 60-70 years old, with some ungrafted vines on sandy soils. Very pretty and spicy, lots of vinous weight here, and a real coolness. There’s plenty of savoury fruit here, with a sandalwood character adding spicy complexity. Really good length and so saline.

From 50 year old vines, planted on slate. The rows themselves are crooked, planted on beautiful old terraces. This is quite ripe, with pineapple, but that opulence is balanced with remarkable minerality. There’s so much body and density, and the finish lasts an age: this is remarkable.

From a terraced, black slate vineyard, from 40-50 year old vines. Most of the vineyard is Riesling, but a small area of Grüner Veltliner has been kept. This is so powerful and intense, with a brilliant balance of sweet and sour. This is a remarkable wine. So much power and depth.

From 40 year old vines right at the top of the slope, where the forest starts. It’s very cool and shy, but there’s remarkable breadth and focus. Tightly coiled, mineral, and savoury, this is one for the long haul.