Wines from Austria Tasting

As usual, the Austrian winemakers filled the first floor of the Institute of Directors in Pall Mall on 10 February. They also brought musicians and Austrian food. The number of Austrian estates exporting to London , or wishing to do so, expands every year, even given the difficulties with the strength of the Euro and the high cost of transport. One importer told me that it costs him £4 a case to have Austrian wine delivered to London by road – it costs just £1.50 from Australia by sea. This year 90 makers showed their wares, supported by 32 importers: over two dozen were in London to find representatives.

The major export lines continue to be dry Gruner Veltliner wines, and the sweet wines, often based on Chardonnay and Welschriesling. There are more red wines coming through, with Pinot Noir becoming more important at the premium end, and Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah being grown to support the lighter local varietals.

As I have discovered in earlier years, the dry wines do not rise above artisan standards, even from the best makers. The under £10 table showed some interesting wines, though only the Gruner Veltliners from Wess in the Wachau, Winzer Krems from Niederosterreich reached ‘good value’ standard. In the more expensive categories, the dry Gruner Veltliners and Rieslings from makers such as Birgit Eichinger (Kamptal), Domane Wachau, Maritiushof (wachau) Jurtshitsch-Sonnhof (Kamptal) Nastl & Pfaffl (Niederosterreich)and Weinreider (Weinviertal) reached similar quality levels. Other interesting dry whites came from Alt ( Wagram ) – a Roter Veltliner, and Johanneshof Reinisch (Thermenregion) with wines from the local Rotgipfler and Zierfandler closes of Traminer. The most impressive red wines that I found were made by J Heinrich (Mittelburgenland), from Blaufrankisch grapes, sometimes blended with a little Merlot, Cabernet or Syrah: their best wine was a straight Blaufrankisch Goldberg Reserve. There was also an interesting wood aged Zweigelt blend from Alt.

Austrian wines reach their pinnacle with the sweet wines, particularly from the shores of the Nieusiedlersee, where botrytis thrives. In addition to the always impressive offerings from Willi Opitz (ranging in price from £16 to £40 a half bottle at wholesale), Feiler-Artinger showed good blends based on Chardonnay, and at a rather lower price level, Weinrieder had a Riesling trockenbeerenauslese from the Wienviertal region.