Wines of Austria (Germany & Hungary): A Wine Tasting & Dinner

In our latest semi-regular confab, friends gathered last week to sample Austria's flagship grape varietals, plus interlopers from Germany and Hungary, paired with a tasty selection of hors d'oeuvres, salad, asparagus, spaetzle, bratwurst, crispy baked chicken legs, and finished off with chocolate cake and clementines.

Although Austria is not well-known for its wines outside the Teutonic world, in fact, wine has been produced in the region for thousands of year, and in earnest since the Middle Ages.  In recent years, Austrian wines have been promoted internationally, yet it still takes a special effort to find more than a token sampling in local stores.  As a result, in order to meet the requirement for a critical mass of selections, I had to resort to filing an SLO (Special Liquor Order) through the PA LCB, as well as raiding my own cellar for the Klosterneuburg St Laurent which I purchased during a tour of the winery/monastery outside of Vienna in 2013.  In the case of the latter, it was definitely worth the wait and I was delighted to share this special bottle with appreciative, discriminating wine-loving friends.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

We began the evening with the preeminent Austrian white wine - Grüner Veltliner, and I must say that not only was it a crowd-pleaser, but also the finest GV I've ever tasted.  Not incidentally, the 2012 vintage was selected as one of the Wine Spectator's Top 100 for that year.  All the elements of an exceptional wine came together in a harmonious, well-rounded and senses-filled tasting experience - aromas, texture, fruit, acidity, palate and finish.

The second white of the evening featured the renowned Tokaj from Hungary.  The distinctive nose of this mainstay of Central Europe may turn off the novice by its rather pungent, even funky, aromas, but do not fear - on the palate, its depth, smoothness, and complexity of fruit and mineral undertones rewards the adventurous imbiber.  And the aromas may even grow on you!

Germany was represented by a Spätburgunder from the Württemberg region, and as the name implies, it originates from Burgundy and is better known to Anglos as Pinot Noir.  Whereas Germany is better known for its sweet Rieslings, this is not the first high quality Spätburgunder that I've tasted. I found it to be reminiscent of certain Oregonian Pinot Noirs, with distinctive coffee notes but also ripe black cherry flavors and zippy acidity supported by bold tannins.

Sad to say, the SLO Zweigelt was somewhat of a disappointment, especially given the extra effort I spent obtaining it. Not that it was a "bad" wine; rather it did not hold up well to the competition of the evening, which is a bit odd, considering that it's a hybrid of the other two Austrian varietals, namely St Laurent and Blanfränkisch.  For moderately priced everyday kind of wine, it fills the bill, but do not expect skies to open and the earth to move.

Do check out the Blaufränkisch, if you get a chance!  This is a very appealing wine with an earthy-mineral spiciness laced with dark berry flavors, and is very food friendly. Read more about the region where it originates in the notes towards the end of this post.

I've already sung the praises of the St Laurent above and you can read a full description below.  While its availability may be spotty in the US (I found an SLO listing - spelling error included - on the PA LCB website for the 2011 vintage at $25.89), I highly recommend visiting the winery in person if you're ever in Vienna:

https://www.stift-klosterneuburg.at/en/

Domäne Wachau Terrassen Federspiel Grüner Veltliner 2015  ($16, WineWorks, NJ)

                     

Origin: Wachau Valley, Austria

Varietal: 100% Grüner Veltliner

Production/Tasting Notes:  Steep terraced yineyards, a cool, marginal climate and meager primary rock soils define the wines; „Federspiel“ stands for dry, medium bodied and elegantly balanced wines of the Wachau; meager primary rock soils, the vineyard sites carefully hand-picked from steeply terraced vineyards throughout the Wachau valley; characterized by fresh fruit and a pronounced minerality; Bright yellow-green in color, distinctive aromas of golden delicious apple, white pepper, hints of exotic fruits, balanced with delicate herbal notes; medium-body crisp acidity, juicy fruits and white spice on the finish. (2012 vintage was a Wine Spectator “Top 100” )

Food Pairings: fish, seafood, and poultry as well as the traditional Austrian cuisine “Wiener Schnitzel”.

Alcohol: 12.5%

Patricius Tokaj Dry Furmint 2014  ($17, WineWorks)

       

        

Classification: Tokaj (PDO: Protected Denomination of Origin – world’s first designated wine appellation) Hungary

Varietal: 100% Furmint

Production/Tasting Notes: Bright, racy; filled with mouthful of stone fruit and tropical flavors, with mineral undertones (90 points, WineEnthusiast)

Food Pairings: seafood, roasted or grilled chicken; sushi, Asian cuisine

Alcohol: 12%

Grafen Neipper Spätburgunder 2011  ($24, PA)

                 

Origin: Württemberg, Germany

Varietal: 100% Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir)

Production/Tasting Notes:  Char and coffee notes add toasty notes to ripe black cherry flavors; brisk cranberry aciditiy runs through palate adding zip and verve; finely textured; bold tannins linger on the finish (90 points WineEnthusiast)

Alcohol: 13%

Wachter Wiesler Bela-Joska Eisenberg Blaufränkisch 2015  ($18, WineWorks)

         

Classification: Eisenberg DAC (Districtus Austriae Controllatus) Austria

Varietal: 100% Blaufränkisch (also known as Lemberger in Pacific Northwest; Blauer Limberger in Germany)

Production/Tasting Notes: 15-40 year old vines; 15 months aging in 1-3,000 liter barrels; typical earthy-mineral spiciness, a touch of white pepper, underlain with an abundance of dark berries.

Alcohol: 13%

Huber Zweigelt 2013  ($16, SLO, PA)

                 

Origin: Niederösterreich (Lower Austria)

Varietal: 100% Zweigelt (hybrid of Blaufränkisch and St Laurent, created in 1922 by Fritz Zweigelt)

Production/Tasting Notes: Loess soil; selection of the best physiological ripe grapes; crushed; cold maceration for 2 days; fermentation in stainless steel; after fermentation maceration for 1 week; pressed; malolactic fermentation; aged for 5 months in 50 % stainless steel and 50 % big wooden casks; fully ripe sour cherries on the nose; very fruity style; compact on the palate; fine, soft  tannins; flavors of red berries and prunes echoed by minty tones.

Food Pairings: Perfect for terrines or game pies; grilled chicken as well as to duck or goose; Also with potato or noodle dishes

Alcohol: 13%

Stift Klosterneuburg St. Laurent 2010  (~ 13 euros, on site; US availability unknown)

Origin: Tattendorf, Thermenregion, Lower Austria

Varietal: 100% St Laurent

Production/Tasting Notes: Alluvial gravel soil with brown earth; single-Vineyard: Stiftsbreite;  aged for 16 months in large oak casks; deep ruby-pomegranate colouration. Hints of star anise and gingerbread, and fine cherry and sour cherry notes make it a particularly elegant representative of its variety. A red wine with balance and velvety texture which leaves one waxing enthusiastic.

Food Pairing: Game and wild fowl, roast beef.

Alcohol: 13%

Notes on the Wines, Producers and Regions

Eisenberg DAC

Hot days, cool nights and unique soil

The terroir of the Eisenberg region is unique: the perfect interplay between climate, geology, topography and the particularly ferruginous soils makes wines with a very distinct character. The Pannonian-Illyrian climate of the Eisenberg DAC area has already led the Celts to cultivate wine here some 2,800 years ago, creating ideal conditions for the Blaufränkisch- Vine. Typical for the Hügellschaftschaft: here the average temperature is significantly lower than in the rest of the Burgenland, rising warm and declining cool air ensures a constant circulation between the vines, the winds scattered hailing clouds, and the forests protect against bad weather and cool the berries during the vegetation phase. In short: optimal terroir for full-bodied grapes with a perfectly preserved acidity and freshness - and for unique, long-lasting wines.

Mineral-fruity spice

The classic representative of the region: mineral, fruity-spicy, juicy. This Blaufränkisch proudly shows its origin: with its typical varietal bouquet of fresh red and dark berries and white pepper, with its elegant structure, succulent acidity, livelyness and fine, mature tannins. The exact time of the vintage - between the end of September and the middle of October - is determined each year so that the stylistic characteristics of the "Eisenberger" are preserved. The expansion of EisenbergDAC is carried out in the steel tank or in the large wooden barrel - because wood flavors are only to be recognized minimally.

The name "Eisenberger" has been used for more than a century as a designation for the typical Blaufränkisch wines from southern Burgenland. In 2010, the region was declared by law the area for typical ancestry wine. The name: EisenbergDAC. DAC stands for Districtus Austriae Controllatus and is the classification, which since 2002 defines area-typical Austrian quality wines.

Klosterneuburg St. Laurent

On the variety and origins of this wine:
St. Laurent is a relative of Pinot Noir and originally was brought to Austria from France by Stift Klosterneuburg in the 19th century. Today it is considered and indigenous Austrian grape variety and is cultivated on 40 hectares in the single-vineyard „Stiftsbreite“ in Tattendorf which is the largest St. Laurent vineyard in the world.

Stift Klosterneuburg Wine Estate:
Since its foundation in 1114 Klosterneuburg monastery has been growing wine and therefore is the oldest wine estate of Austria. With 108 Hectares of vineyards it is one of the country‘s largest and most renowned estates. The vineyards are situated in selected top locations in Klosterneuburg, Vienna, Gumpoldskirchen and Tattendorf.  Since the year 2009 it is the first carbon neutral wine estate in Europe.

Collection:
What makes our single-vineyard wines stand out is the particular choice of hand-picked grapes. The wine is made from grapes grown in individual vine-yards with a long tradition, and the Stift Klosterneuburg Wine Estate has been cultivating some of the individual sites for centuries. A highly selective and target-ed harvest ensures the ripest of grapes, while the process of ageing the wines – done partly in small wooden casks – guarantees that they can be stored for several years while maintaining their high quality.