Austrian Wine

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2022

Vinous 94 Points | The 2022 Riesling Terrassen Smaragd is from 20- to 60-year-old vines planted on higher parcels at 250-350 meters. The nose has something of an eau de Cologne sense, with its conifer and citrus spice. The palate is super slender, very linear and uncompromisingly fresh, without a suspicion of fat or any opulence. This treads a thin line on perfect tiptoe. There is a weightless quality here. This is brimming with lemon and utterly fresh.

The Wine Spectator 93 Points | With fullness to the lychee, green plum and quince flavors, this delicious, mouthcoating and salty white is laced with baking spice notes. Stays elegant and well-defined despite its plump profile, offering zesty clementine acidity, with dried sage and fresh-cut grass notes bringing a savory dimension. Drink now through 2032.

Winemaker Description 

Wachau Riesling is dry and often defined by high levels of dry extract (due to a lengthy ripening period) and a pleasing freshness (due to dramatic temperature swings between day and night). Soils of primary rock from various terraced sites give this dry Riesling subtle minerality accompanied by aromas and flavors of citrus and stone fruit.

Riesling’s high acidity makes it one of the most versatile wines at the table. Riesling can be used to cut the fattiness of foods such as pork or sausages and can tame a certain amount of saltiness. Conversely, it can highlight foods such as fish or vegetables in the same way a squeeze of lemon or a vinaigrette can.

Rudi Pichler is among the elite growers of the Wachau producing wines of precision, power, and longevity. Grüner Veltliner and Riesling make up 95% of the production with the remaining 5% shared between Weißburgunder and Roter Veltliner. Rudi Pichler belongs to the prestigious Vinea Wachau and vinifies under the strict parameters of their codex.

Yields are kept low between 30 and 35 hectoliters per hectare with botrytis carefully removed by hand.  Grapes are crushed by foot and receive between three and 36 hours of maceration on the skins. Vinification is entirely in stainless-steel tanks and malolactic fermentation is avoided.

Weingut Rudi Pichler consists of 37 acres spread between Wösendorf, Joching, and Weißenkirchen where south-facing terraces look down at the Danube River. Terrassen indicates it is a cuvée from multiple terraced sites. Smaragd is a term used by Vinea Wachau members indicating a dry wine with a minimum alcohol of 12.5%.

Winemaker Description

Elegant, approachable, and focused on drinkability and fruit, with depth and balance. It's often described as a great representation of classic Blaufränkisch, showcasing its lighter, more mineral side.

Dark berries, wild cherry, violets, cracked pepper, a subtle herbal/spice background, and an earthy edge. Soft, juicy, and lively with bright acidity. Flavors often include dark berries, plum, graphite, and spice. Some notes mention a salty, peppery, and iron-rich minerality.

Medium-bodied with fine, well-dispersed, or "dusty" tannins that play a supporting role. It has a bright, engaging, and long finish.

Sourced from vineyards in and around Oggau in Burgenland, Austria, with soils comprised of limestone, mica-schist, and slate.

The winery practices organic farming.

Fermented in stainless steel with native yeast, often racked into used Stockinger (large wooden) barrels for aging. The focus is on achieving ripeness while maintaining freshness and lower alcohol.

Winemaker Description 

This Pet Nat from Straka is 100% Welschriesling fermented naturally in the ancestral method. The second fermentation occurs naturally inside the bottle creating trapped CO2. Bubbles!

At a low 12% alcohol this mineral yet fruit driven expression of the main white grape of Burgenland is eminently thirst quenching. As with all the Straka wines, the farming is organic, the intervention in the cellar minimal with no additions.

The 84 year old family estate is located in the Eisenberg district of Burgenland. The Eisenberg is a unique geological area where the foothills of the Alps meet the Pannonian lowlands and is comprised of metamorphic, magmatic rock and cristal schist.

One of only 3 places in the world with this soil composition. The deep rooted vines naturally show a distinct mineral character and a compelling purity of fruit.

Combined with the attention to farming and careful hand harvesting the Straka wines are a true find. 

Johanneshof Reinisch St. Laurent 2020 750ml

Johanneshof Reinisch is one of Austria's most respected family estates, based in Tattendorf in the Thermenregion south of Vienna. The estate is a benchmark producer of St. Laurent — Austria's indigenous red grape that shares DNA with Pinot Noir but delivers a richer, darker, more generous style. The warm, dry gravel soils of Tattendorf are ideally suited to this heat-loving variety.

Tasting Notes

Deep ruby in color with an intense bouquet of ripe dark cherry, plum, and a hint of raw, earthy depth. The palate is textured and juicy — round, generous, and almost creamy — with fine tannins, vibrant fruit, and a long, aromatic finish. Supple and charming with excellent fruit ripeness. Aged in large oak casks. 12.5% ABV.

Critical Acclaim - Vintage 2020

• Wine Advocate: 90 — "Mouth-filling and charming red with fine tannins and an aromatic fruit-intense finish. Perfect fruit ripeness."

Domaine

• Producer: Johanneshof Reinisch, Tattendorf, Thermenregion, Austria
• Appellation: Thermenregion DAC
• Grape: 100% St. Laurent
• Vintage: 2020
• Aging: Large oak casks
• Style: Medium-full bodied, fruit-driven Austrian red — screw cap

Winemaker Description 

Federspiel is a designation of ripeness for dry wines, a term used exclusively by members of the Vinea Wachau.

Federspiel wines must be unchaptalized and fall between 11.5 and 12.5% ABV. The grapes are hand-harvested, typically in October, and are sent directly to press where they spontaneously ferment in stainless-steel tanks. Franz Prager, co-founder of the Vinea Wachau, had already earned a reputation for his wines when Toni Bodenstein married into the family.

Bodenstein’s passion for biodiversity and old terraces, coupled with brilliant winemaking, places Prager in the highest echelon of Austrian producers. Steinriegl is planted to Riesling and is Prager’s only vineyard west of Weißenkirchen.

The exceptionally steep, southwest-facing site has a cool mesoclimate due to its proximity to the forest, and its soil is a unique “kalksilikatmarmor,” a limestone silicate marble rarely found elsewhere in the Wachau. Bodenstein produces both an earlier-picked Federspiel and a later-picked Smaragd.

Austrian Riesling is often defined by elevated levels of dry extract thanks to a lengthy ripening period and freshness due to dramatic temperature swings between day and night.

Steinriegl’s uniquely cool microclimate results in wines of high aroma and focused acidity and its limestone soil provide compact structure and a flavor that is distinctive among Wachau Rieslings.Riesling’s high acidity makes it one of the most versatile wines at the table.

Riesling can be used to cut the fattiness of foods such as pork or sausages and can tame some saltiness. Conversely, it can highlight foods such as fish or vegetables in the same way a squeeze of lemon or a vinaigrette might.

Winemaker Description 

Laser-focused and mineral-loaded with ripe layers of sun-kissed citrus fruits, mango peel, and crunchy yellow/green apple on a bed of crushed white rock and honeysuckle. It’s unabashedly delicious yet complex and bone-dry; a quintessential snapshot of a storied terroir. 

Want an authentic, elite bottling of Kremstal? This is it! Enjoy now and over the next 3-5 years.

Meinklang Burgenland Red — Burgenland, Austria 2022

Meinklang is one of Austria’s most progressive and celebrated biodynamic estates — a large-scale family farm on the shores of Lake Neusiedl in Burgenland whose holistic approach to agriculture integrates viticulture, grain farming, and livestock in a self-sustaining biodynamic ecosystem. Certified organic, biodynamic, and fully vegan, Meinklang’s wines are an expression of place without compromise: no herbicides, no pesticides, minimal intervention in the cellar, and a commitment to indigenous varieties that reflects the character of Burgenland’s unique continental climate and fertile soils. The 2022 Burgenland Red is crafted primarily from Zweigelt — Austria’s most beloved indigenous red variety — in a style that prioritizes freshness, vibrancy, and sheer drinkability.

The nose is exuberant and inviting: ripe cherries, raspberries, and fresh red fruit, with a subtle spicy note that beckons the first sip. On the palate, the wine is youthful and zesty with a velvety texture, orchard-fresh fruit flavors, and a pleasing, smooth finish. It is vibrant, food-friendly, and deeply satisfying — the kind of biodynamic Austrian red that disappears fast at any table.

"An exuberant and vivacious red wine. A bouquet of ripe red fruits unfurls, featuring cherries and raspberries, complemented by a subtle spicy note. On the palate, an unexpectedly zesty freshness, with fruit flavors that evoke a stroll through an orchard in the height of summer." — Winemaker’s Notes, Meinklang

• Producer: Meinklang, Pamhagen, Burgenland, Austria
• Vintage: 2022
• Appellation: Burgenland, Austria
• Varietal: Zweigelt
• Farming: Certified Organic, Biodynamic & Vegan
• Closure: Cork
• Size: 750ml
• Tasting Notes: Ripe cherry, raspberry, fresh red fruit, subtle spice, zesty acidity, velvety texture, smooth finish
• Best Paired With: Roasted chicken, grilled sausages, charcuterie, mushroom dishes, aged Gouda

Austria’s benchmark biodynamic Zweigelt at an honest price — Meinklang is the standard for what certified organic, vegan-made Burgenland red can deliver.