Austrian expert Philipp Blom has called Fred Loimer a “tireless perfectionist”, something that is evident the moment you set eyes on his stunning winery in the middle of the vineyards between Langenlois and Zöbing in the Kamptal. Loimer had peepholes drilled into the façade so you’re able to get your orientation straight. Loimer is a Grüner and Riesling specialist and the 2009s showed excellent precision and balance.

2009’s from Fred Loimer

2009 Loimer Zweigelt Rosé

2009 Fred Loimer Grüner Veltliner Lois

2009 Fred Loimer Riesling Lenz

2009 Loimer Riesling Kamptal DAC

2009 Loimer Grüner Veltliner Kamptal DAC

2009 Loimer Grüner Veltliner Langenlois Terrassen

2009 Loimer Grüner Veltliner Käferberg

2009 Loimer Grüner Veltliner Spiegel

jessebeckerMS

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Weingut Rudi Pichler might be my favorite producer in the Wachau but Tony Bodentein (Prager) might be the Wachau’s best producer. Not to take anything away from the outstanding wines of Franz Hirtzberger or F.X. Pichler but Bodenstein’s wines, especially the Rieslings, are the most chiseled, precise, and terroir-driven in the entire Wachau. I ran out of things to write while tasting through his ‘09’s at the winery during Vievinum this May. Bodenstein’s holdings are mainly in the Riesling-intensive Durnstein area. They’re all the famous rieden: Achleiten, Hollerin, Klaus…ALL of the ‘09’s are exceptional:

2009 Weingut Prager (Tony Bodenstein)

2009 Gruner Veltliner Federspiel Hinter der Burg

2009 Riesling Federspiel Steinriegel

2009 Prager Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Weitenberg

2009 Prager Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Liebenberg

2009 Prager Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Weissenkirchener Zwerithaler

2009 Prager Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Achleiten

2009 Prager Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Bodenstein Achleiten

2009 Prager Grüner Veltliner Stockkultur Achleiten

2009 Prager Riesling Smaragd Durnsteiner Kaiserberg

2009 Riesling Hollerin

2009 Prager Riesling Smaragd Steinriegl

2009 Prager Riesling Smaragd Achleiten

2009 Prager Riesling Smaragd Klaus

2009 Prager Riesling Smaragd Wachstum Bodenstein

jessebeckerMS

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Traveling west from Mautern, the Danube River takes a sharp turn at the village of Dürnstein. Rudy points out that the village has some gorgeous architecture and attracts a lot of tourists; it's also home to some of the Wachau's greatest rieden (vineyard sites): Mühlpoint, Steinertal, Loibenberg, Schütt, Hollerin, and Kellerberg.

Dürnstein gets

One of the coolest things I've done in my 14 years in the wine trade was boating down the Danube with Falstaff winemaker of the year Rudi Pichler and the team from Winebow during Vievinum 2010. This first of three posts is mainly the western end of Kremstal before entering into the Wachau. After tasting at Weingut Stadt Krems, we set out for the village of Spitz, starting near the Weinzierlberg vineyard in Krems. Weinzierlberg (wine hill) has been planted to vine since the Middle Ages and is dominated by loam, loess, and gravel, producing peppery Gruner Veltliner and lemony Riesling.

 

The Weingut Stadt Krems, as the name suggests, is owned by the city of Krems in lower Austria. It has 550 years of history behind it, not all of them glorious in the wines they were producing. This has all changed now with the brilliant team of enologist Fritz Miesbauer and managing director Franz-Josef Gansberger (he goes by Jos or Josey) at the helm for the last decade. Fritz and Jos have full control of everything that goes on here. Fritz said he has just one meeting a year with the city of Krems. "It takes 30 minutes to show the balance". The citizens of Krems should be just as pleased with the balance of the books as they are the quality of the wines! There is not a bad wine in the bunch and the top tier "Erste Lage" wines are on par with any estate in Kremstal. Stadt Krems owns 31 ha in top sites, half of which are on terraces. Remarkably no wines or grapes have ever been bought from outside vineyards, they are farmed without chemicals. The top wines are made with spontaneous fermentation, and aged in stainless steel. The house style here is for dry, fresh, and focused wines, with an emphasis on complexity and less fruitiness.

2009 Weingut Stadt Krems Gruner Veltliner Kremstal DAC Weinzierlberg

2009 Weingut Stadt Krems Gruner Veltliner Kremstal DAC Reserve Wachtberg "Erste Lage"

2009 Weingut Stadt Krems Riesling Steinterrassen Kremstal DAC

I'll be posting about this again when I get back to the states but had to post this photo and say that this was one of the coolest things I've done in my 14 years in the wine trade.

Rudi Pichler is Fallstaff's winemaker of the year. Elizabeth and I first visited Rudi in fall 2008 and his wines are even better than I remember. His 2009s are nothing short of breath taking, look for some offers from us very shortly. Tasting notes and additional posts coming soon including full video of boating down the Danube with Rudi pointing out the crus of the Wachau.

jessebeckerMS
peripherique selections
www.peripheriquewine.com

Austria Uncorked at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco was a rare opportunity to taste some of the top wines of Austria, from multiple estates (and multiple importers) all under one roof. There were many wines from the highly anticipated 2009 vintage on display. The 2009's have really wonderful flavor and definition while being tightly wound and concentrated. I've written a report on this vintage for an upcoming issue of Sommelier Journal, to summarize:

"...the early reports, including those of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board and jancisrobinson.com, projected 2009 to be a vintage of exceptional quality, although of smaller quantity. Michael Moosbrugger of the Schloss Gobelsburg estate refers to 2009 as being similar to the 2007 and 2005 vintages, both of which displayed exceptional character, quality, and longevity. Willi Kilinger, general manager of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board noted that "despite the hail and difficulties with the fruit set...the rest of the growing season was perfect, with dry days and cool nights, resulting in fully ripe and beautifully healthy fruit. Those who have loved the 2008 vintage for its finesse and purity can savor 2009 for its balanced richness, taut acidity, and strength of character..."

jessebeckerMS

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