2024 Weingut Bründlmayer, Grüner Veltliner, Terrassen, Kamptal DAC, Austria.
Sitting at Nepenthe, the famous burger joint overlooking some of Big Sur’s most beautiful coastline on a summery January day required something to match the occasion and wow, this Bründlmayer Grüner Veltliner Terressen really hit the spot perfectly. Bone dry, ultra pale and mineral toned, this 2024 vintage is pure as can be with hints of herbs and lime blossoms, wet stones and bitter almonds revolve around a citrusy core of fruit, along with white peach, quince, subtle papaya and grapefruit pith, as well as white pepper, gun flint, verbena ands salt accents. Light bodied on the palate and with loads of vitality this Grüner is wonderfully crafted to refresh and impress in the glass and still holds up to a variety of cuisine. This Grüner is, like the Riesling, sourced from prime terraced vineyards, mainly all organic vines, including pedigreed Cru sites above the Danube River set on primary rock, loess and clay soils with some younger vines. The vinification here is done all spontaneous, native yeast, with a stainless steel fermentation and saw some lees aging, allowing for some depth, while remaining fabulously transparent. This Terrassen Grüner and Riesling bottlings are a must, but other wines in the Bründymayer lineup that I recommend include the mentioned Brut Rosé, plus the Langenloiser Alte Reben (old vine) Kamptal Reserve Grüner, the Ried Zöbinger Heiligenstein Riesling (Grand Cru level), as well as Vincent Bründlmayer’s special cuvée of Cab Franc and the Extra Brut Reserve bubbly. Again this super dry and crisply pure Grüner is simply outstanding and electric in the glass, and what a bargain. It’s wines like this that show why Grüner Veltliner is Austria’s favorite son and why sommeliers gravitate to it around the world.
Weingut Bründlmayer’s Vincent Bründlmayer, who I’ve known since he was like 17, introduced to me by Terry Theise (Riesling Guru) and my friend Beccy Breeze in San Francisco many years ago, and who as mentioned here, makes some of Austria’s most thrilling wines, especially his Cru Grüner Veltliners and Rieslings, but he also makes one of the finest methode Champenoise Brut Rosé sparklers in Europe, along with a amazing collection of varietal wines, including his stellar and unique Cabernet Franc as well as this value priced Terrassen Grüner and the (dry) Riesling. Weingut Bründlmayer, formerly known as Willi Brundlmayer, who’s Vincent’s dad, made this winery famous for quality, especially in the late nineties and to the mid 2000s, when I first discovered it, before young Vincent started spreading his own wings and took it to the next level. The Kamptal, Austria’s largest growing area, is an increasingly prestigious wine district located 55 kilometers (35 miles) northwest of Vienna, near the Wachau and the Kremstal, its historic sister regions. This prime location, with the wine town of Langenlois at its heart, is filled with steep, sun baked, with meager loess based rocky soils on picturesque terraced vineyard sites that overlook the river Kamp, that flows off of the mighty Danube. These vines in Kamptal produce some of Austria’s most distinct offerings, if not some of the world’s finest white wines, especially by talented winemakers like Vincent Bründlmayer, mainly made from and most notable fabulous Grüner Veltliner as well as intense flinty Rieslings. These elevated terraces, according to the winery, consist of stonier soils that bring out fruit-driven varietal character with mineral nuances and good aging potential. Thanks to Nepenthe, for a super wine list, nature for a spectacular showing, and Vincent for the wine, it doesn’t get much better than this.
($28 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive