February 26, 2025 2:46 pm
Grüner Veltliner has found its way onto many a restaurant wine list, supermarket shelf and specialist merchant worldwide and I am a long term fan of all the different expressions that the Winzers of Austria capably produce, from crisp easy drinking summer wines to structured treasures that bloom after a decade or two in the cellar.
But what about the other indigenous and traditional white grape varieties that Austria has to offer? Well there are plenty including the following:
Over the last year I have been expanding my horizons by seeking out three of these in particular.
Roter Veltliner
Historically grown in Kamptal, Wagram and Kremstal often as part of a field blend this variety was largely uprooted in the 1950s and 60s as part of a shift to single varietal vineyards. The grape is challenging to grow being prone to frost, botrytis and mould das it ripens late. Grüner Veltliner by contrast is hardier and ripens earlier and so was the favoured variety for replanting and now accounts for over 30% of all area under vine.
Roter Veltliner has continued to dwindle over the last couple of decades but, according to Jospeh Mantler of family Weingut Mantlerhof in Kremstal who wrote a dissertation on the variety, is making something of a resurgence as a single varietal wine.
As the climate has changed hazards such as drought, sunburn and heat stress are becoming as important if not more so than frost and fungal diseases. It turns out that Roter Veltliner handles lack of water and heat rather well and the natural reddish pink colour of the skins means it doesn’t have to reach for the factor 50 in the sun.
So what are the wines like? The wines are not aromatic but have subtle orchard fruit, herbal and sweet root vegetable aromas. They have a broad textured mouth feel and whilst fresh have soft acidity making them a great contrast to Grüner Veltliner. There are two broad wine making approaches: a high yield, easy drinking style and a more concentrated textured and age worthy style that requires several passes of the vineyard to pick the grapes at optimum ripeness.
Weingut Leth of Wagram makes both styles. Their Roter Veltliner Fells Klassik 2023 has muted aromas of apple, pear, dried herbs and a touch of sweet spice. On the palate it is quite textured but with nice freshness. A nice uncomplicated partner to richer Austrian or Asian dishes.
Weingut Mantlerhof only make a reserve style from a single vineyard. The Roter Veltliner Ried Gedersdorfer Reisenthal 2023 has notes of ripe yellow apple, pear, celeriac, parsnip and white pepper. In the mouth its actually just off dry which balances the acidity, there is a creamy mouth feel and a long persistent finish. Joseph recommends bottle aging this wine to allow it to develop more notes of spice and dried fruit.
Rotgipfler & Zierfandler
These two varieties are largely grown in the Thermenregion particularly around Gumpoldskirchen on the hillsides of the Wienerwald just south of Vienna. The area’s volcanic springs were popular with the Romans and so of course wine has been grown there ever since. It’s a little warmer than the other parts of Niederösterreich but not as warm as Burgendland to the east.
Rotgipfler is made as a single variety but also often blended with Zierfandler for balance as it retains more acidity when ripe. Both display some of aromatic and tropical fruit Traminer characteristics and both are textural and full bodied with sweet spicy notes. Late harvested Zierfandler is also used to make sweet wines. High quality examples apparently mature well in bottle.
Stift Klosterneuburg’s 2023 Cuvee Gumpoldskirchen is a blend of both. Ripe tropical fruit on the nose, with banana, cinnamon and cake spices. The body is full and alcohol high, off dry but balanced with a nice long finish.
Familie Reinish Gumpoldskirchner Tradition 2022. Also a blend. Exotic, ripe stone and tropical fruit salad with sweet spices on the nose. Rich creamy mouth feel, some sweetness but overall manages to be remain fresh with a long finish.
Do try these varieties when you come across them!
AustrianWine.com has an excellent website packed full of useful information on the wines and regions and vineyards. It also provides super regional maps and contact details for wineries for when you visit. The featured image above is a photo of a great summary fact sheet provided by the association at a recent tasting in London.
Posted by Kiran
Categories: Austria, news, tasting notes
Tags: Austrian Wine, food, kamptal, kremstal, Roter Veltliner, Thermenregion, travel, wine, Wine tasting, wine-pairing
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