Bründlmayer

Bründlmayer

This Article Contains People Focus Country Region Village Climate Vineyards Grape Varieties Farming Cellar Work About the winery What do the wines taste like?

People |

Willi Bründlmayer & Andreas Wickhoff MW as General Manager

Focus |

Country |

Austria

Region |

Kamptal

Village |

Langelois

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.
• Kamptal is cooled by air coming down from the north, especially the valley’s and surrounding forest. But warmth comes in the form of hot eastern gusts, helping to ripen the grapes and keep disease at bay.
• 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 |

90 ha. Many vineyards  over 50 years old and a plot on the Heiligenstein that was planted in the 1920’s.

• Heiligenstein: Most famous site in Kamptal and one of the great vineyards of Austria. This terraced hill is an outcropping of 270 million year old unique formation of red sandstone and conglomerate with volcanic permian rocks. Superb Riesling is to be found here. Some plots are up to 60 years old.

• Steinmassl: Gneiss and mica slate

• Veltliner finds ideal conditions on these deep, south-facing loess-loam terraces, to produce a particularly complex and expressive wine.

• Langenloiser Berg-Vogelsang: A variety of mica schist called “Gföhler Gneiss” some of the amphibolite stones in the vineyards even contain garnets.

• Käferberg: The soils are variable, with different underlying bedrock: within a small area one can find crystalline rocks such as amphibolite, gneiss, and mica schist, alternating with much younger clay marl, sands, and rare gravels that were deposited in the ancient Paratethys Sea 16 million years ago.
• Lamm: Kammerman Village. Southeast of the Heiligenstein vineyard is the Ried Lamm. The deep loess-loam formation is interspersed with volcanic rock with a distinctive silt component. Grüner Veltliner finds ideal conditions on these deep, south-facing loess-loam terraces, to produce a particularly complex and expressive wine.

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.

• Riesling
• The King of White Grapes
• You’ll find it on the peaks of high, rocky, steep vineyards in the Wachau, Kamptal and Kremstal.
• What they lack in vineyard area, these wines make up for in pure, clear, undeniable quality. 
• The best examples show the beauty that can come from a perfect marriage: these wines bring the acidity of the Mosel, matched with the density of Alsacian Grand Crus, but are always dry and ready to age for decades. 
• They often benefit from 5-10 years of bottle age, but your patience is greatly rewarded with a kaleidoscope of flavors and textures. 
• Fruits span the rainbow depending on the site, style and vintage, from green melon, lime and herbs, yellow peaches and lemons, orange zest and marmalade, pink grapefruit, even a touch of cherry on occasion. But the real beauty lies in the non-fruit notes. Especially with age, you can get stony minerality, petrol, honey, toast, salt, marzipan and so much more.
• Pinot Noir
• Brought by the same Cistearcian monks with the rest of the Burgundy varieties
• Burgenland and Thermenregion. 
• There are beautiful examples especially on limestone soils with careful winemaking

• Chardonnay 
• Another grape brought over by the Cistercian monks so it’s had a long time to make a home for itself. 
• Grown across the country, it is made in styles that range from light, unoaked, and Chablisienne to big, broad and toasty. 
• There are some beautiful examples, Burgenland, Vienna, Lower Austria and especially the Steiermark.
• 17% other varieties

Farming |

Organic

• No chemical fertilizers or herbicides for 40 years
• Organic since 2015
• certified organic by LACON, an outside, objective, certifying body
• 17 ha are trained in the Lyre method, which Willi helped create.

Cellar Work |

Modern - Low Intervention

• All hand harvested
• Multiple selections through the vineyard are made
• Botrytis is never accepted
• Majority of grapes are not de-stemmed or crushed
• Grapes are handled as minimally as possible
• A tiny portion of grapes are held back, de-stemmed, and macerated for 12 hours; used as ‘seasoning’ during blending to add another dimension and tonality to the final wines.
• Very gentle 1 bar pressing
• Fermented in stainless steel or wood
• Temperature control, but cool, not cold
• Wines age on lees 3-18 months depending on wine
• Sparkling wines can age for years in the cellar
• Hand riddling
• Cellar is gravity fed, to avoid pumping
• Photovoltaics on the roof for electricity
• Geothermal pipes below for heating

About the winery |

Brundlmayer is among the greatest estates in Austria and arguably among the very greatest white-wine producers in the entire world. Quality has gradually increased even further under the watchful eye of Andreas Wickhoff, MW, who took the helm from Willi Bründlmayer in 2014. 

The entry level wines are the purest examples of straight-up Kamptal Riesling and Grüner you could hope for. But the fancier bottlings are truly next level, transmitting the multi-faced soil, aspect, elevation and micro climates throughout the Kamptal. The estate is always pushing the boundaries of what one could expect from their vines and with great effect.

What do the wines taste like?

A huge variety of wines and styles to choose from. Light and bright Grüner, Riesling and rosé. Mid-tier lunch wines, a little more serious, a little more structured. The single vineyards are deep, elegant, focused and ageworthy. The reds are old-world, earthy, with supple tannins. 

Sparkling wines are the Champagne method and share all their best qualities: creamy, elegant, brioche, lees, freshness and liveliness.

The magic of this estate is how incredibly good the wines are and consistent, considering just how large a production they have. Team members here work together under great leadership. There is something for everyone