Bernhard Ott
Bernhard Ott
This Article Contains |
People |
Bernhard Ott
Focus |
The absolute greatest Grüner Veltliner. Wines that transcend variety and highlight with dazzling complexity the outstanding quality of the Wagram.
Country |
Austria
Region |
Wagram
Village |
Feuersbrunn
Climate |
Cool Continental
- Defined as very cold winters, hot, short, fairly rainy summers, with long, cool, dry autumns.
- Now: winters are usually not as cold, summers are much hotter, drought is a serious problem 4 or the last 5 years, autumns start later and are often much wetter than they used to be.
- Wagram is exposed to the cold northern gusts and hot eastern gusts depending on the time of year
- There is a big diurnal shift (difference between day and night temperatures) starting in the fall. This extends the growing season and gives Austrian wines their signature balance of freshness and ripeness, opulence and grace.
- Cool climate wines are high in acid, low in alcohol, light in body, and often show a lot of mineral flavors rather than fruit.
- Usually white wines are made, but some light reds, like Pinot Noir can also ripen well.
- Warmer vintages: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2015 produce wines with lower acidity, higher alcohols, and richer fruit flavors.
- Cooler vintages: 2021, 2013, 2010, 2008 produce what are now considered “classic” cool-climate wines.
Vineyards |
- Feuersbrunner Rosenberg: The oldest vines here were planted in 1954, soil is very deep loess which is a very light windblown sand from the last ice age and contains a high lime content.
- Feuersbrunner Spiegel: The soils here are a mix of deep, chalky loess and red gravel – a sort of mix of the two soil types from Rosenberg and Stein.
- Engabrunner Stein: Kamptal. Gföhler gneiss at the bottom, red sands, white sands, a layer of chalk and a little loess on top.
Grape Varieties |
- Grüner Veltliner:
- A true Austrian treasure. Grüner is rarely planted outside of its home country, but is revered the world over.
- Mainly grown in the Lower Austrian region (Niederösterreich) with some vines in northernmost Burgenland, it holds 30% of the country’s vineyard area.
- Grüner is dynamic making it known for easily quaffable fresh and fruity wines. But, it just as easily becomes Austria’s most famous long-lived, mineral-laden beauties and some delicious sekt (wine made with bubbles).
- Wines from Grüner Veltliner have continuously taken top marks in blind tastings against Chardonnay from Burgundy and California, displaying a richness and concentration sans the oak barrels its competitors rely on.
- Its flavors range from stone fruit, fresh pear, lemon, green herbs, arugula, and spicy white or black pepper. The best versions can age for decades and develop complex notes of honey, toast, chutney and wax.
Farming |
Biodynamic
- One of the leaders of Biodynamic farming in Austria
- Formed the producer certification groupe Respekt Biodyn
- Dry farmed
- Shallow plowing
- All hand harvested
- Made the switch after a visit to DRC with Aubert de Villaine and his best friend Hans Reisetbauer
- Makes his own compost - his prized possession.
- Compost helps with water retention and grapes ripen without excessive sugar.
Cellar Work |
Traditional - Low intervention
- Strict selection in the vineyard
- Grapes are crushed in the press and macerated, length depends on style of the vintage
- Whole cluster pressing
- Usually pneumatic, but in 2022 everything was hand pressed in an old basket press
- Browning out of the must
- All native yeasts
- Fermented in stainless steel or large Stockinger barrels
- Starting in 2018 everything is aged in large Stocking barrels
- No temperature control
- Very minimal sulfur additions at harvest and bottling
- Malolactic fermentation is inhibited by the cold cellar
- Single vineyard wines on full lees until the following summer.
About the winery |
When the 21-year-old Bernhard took over from his father in the early 90s, he did so with the rebellious confidence reserved for the young. He tossed out his fathers old wooden casks and invested in shiny stainless steel tanks. The wines of the Wachau, a few miles upriver, were garnering the world’s attention for their power and longevity.
But no one was crafting world-renowned wine in his home base of the Wagram; in fact, it wasn’t even called the Wagram by anyone but the farmers who lived there. These south-facing slopes on the north bank of the Danube were lumped in with the sprawling, undistinguished Donbas region, and the wine was largely drunk by crowds of Viennese driving up to picnic in the vineyards.
It wasn’t until 2007, thanks in part to Bernhard's efforts, that the Wagram was delineated, named, and recognized as a place of quality. He knew his vineyards, especially the Rosenberg, with its 30 meter deep loess (a fine calcareous windblown sand) were prime real estate for the type of Grüner he wanted to make.
For this, he was going to need more than fancy tanks. You can only make perfect wine from perfect grapes, and the conventional wisdom of conventional farming wasn't going to cut it. It was a trip to DRC in 2007 — hosted by Aubert de Villaine — where Bernhard was introduced to biodynamic farming. If it was good enough for Aubert, it was good enough for Bernhard.
His vines have responded to their change in care. The grapes ripen fully, both with sugar and physiologically. They are healthier, adapting to the changing climate with ease. They differ in the cellar, demanding a malleable mind to respond accordingly. In 2018, realizing his father may have been right after all, he brought back large wooden casks. This was the correct change — the wines are perfect.
What do the wines taste like?
Stunningly pure wines, like the great Burgundies of the world, these have a perfect expression of site. But unlike those wines they rely less on the direct influence of oak flavors and more on perfectly farmed fruit, which is really more like perfectly farmed minerals in grape form.
Wines on Offer |
Bernhard Ott, Grüner Veltliner Am Berg, 2022 $27.99 $24.63
"5 ha from organic from the father of vineyard manager, some - this is delicious, crisp and pure with excellent light grip the wine feels relaxed and confident rather than intense and nervy. This is so satisfying, it has a kind of crisp and dense fruit (Braeburn apple ripe lemon with herbal touches and deep loess-y character. The attack is all spiciness which gives way to fruit. Uses a little bit so2, that’s it." — Gabriel Clary, Skurnik Wines
Bernhard Ott, Grüner Veltliner Der, 2021 $44.99 $39.59
“From younger vines, the 2021 Grüner Veltliner Der Ott offers a clear, intense and aromatic, pure and elegant bouquet of ripe pears. On the palate, this is a rich and intense, fresh and very elegant Veltliner with a long, aromatic and intense finish with fine, phenolic grip and a saline aftertaste. A spectacular wine, of which 45,000 bottles were filled in late spring of this year. 13% stated alcohol. Screw cap-closure. Tasted at the domaine in September 2022. 91 pts” — Stephan Reinhardt
Bernhard Ott, Grüner Veltliner Fass 4, 2022 $35.99 $31.67
"This has much more complexity than Am Berg, a departure from the 2021 vintage when these two wines seemed closer together in the 2021 vintage. it is more visceral and open, fresh and bright but with more ripe green elements. 12.2% alc this is just fantastic wine, this is packed with flavor. This is not showing the hedgerow character yet that this wine often does with 6 months in the bottle, but you can feel the undercurrent here." — Gabriel Clary, Skurnik Wines
Bernhard Ott, Grüner Veltliner Rosenberg 1ÖTW Wagram, 2021 $84.99 $74.79
“Basket-pressed and aged in large oak, the 2021 Ried Rosenberg 1ÖTW Feuersbrunn Grüner Veltliner is pure and intense on the nose and offers a clear, ripe, elegant and slightly lactic bouquet. Rich and round on the palate, this is a silky-textured and grippy, quite powerful and saline Veltliner with a long and powerful finish. Tasted as a barrel sample in September 2022. 94 pts” -- Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate
Bernhard Ott, Grüner Veltliner Spiegel 1 ÖTW Wagram, 2021 $77.99 $68.63
“The 2021 Ried Spiegel 1ÖTW Grüner Veltliner is crazy in its richness and salinity as well as flinty purity. Rich and intense on the palate, this is a powerful, refined and elegant Veltliner with lingering salinity and mineral tension. This is a powerful, dense and sustainable wine with a long and powerful finish. Tasted as a sample at the domaine in September 2022. 95-97 pts” -- Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate
Bernhard Ott, Grüner Veltliner Stein 1 ÖTW Kamptal DAC, 2021 $77.99 $68.63
“Tasted as a sample, the 2021 Ried Stein 1ÖTW Engabrunn Grüner Veltliner offers a deep, fresh and flinty/stony bouquet of ripe fruits and smoky bacon. Full-bodied, rich and dense on the palate, this is an opulent but elegant, fresh, savory and salty Veltliner with spectacular grip and tension. A fascinating wine. Tasted as a sample in September 2022. 95-96 pts” -- Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate
Bernhard Ott, Rosalie Rosé, 2022 $30.99 $27.27