Weingut Brundlmayer - Ried Zöbinger Heiligenstein 'Alte Reben' 1 ÖTW 2014 (750ml)

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Producer	Weingut Brundlmayer
Country	Austria
Region	Kamptal
Subregion	Zöbinger Heiligenstein
Varietal	Riesling
Vintage	2014
Sku	38379
Size	750ml

   

WA

93

The Bründlmayer family owns 12 hectares in the center of Zöbinger Heiligenstein, with 10.5 hectares dedicated to Riesling. The vineyard uses both Lyra trellis and traditional Guyot training methods, with yields restricted to 3500-4000 liters per hectare for their classic Kamptal DAC version. The vineyard boasts old vines averaging 50 years, with some reaching 75 years, producing fewer but more concentrated grapes due to their well-developed root systems.

Geologically, Zöbinger Heiligenstein is unique, featuring 270-million-year-old Perm desert sandstone with volcanic inclusions and carbonized primeval vegetation remains. Its ideal gradient, position, and location in a climatic borderland create perfect conditions for outstanding wines. The site experiences warm Pannonian winds during the day and cool northern gusts at night, enhancing the grapes' aromatic expression and contributing to the exceptional quality of the wines produced here.

Bründlmayer's 2014 Riesling Zöbinger Ried Heiligenstein Alte Reben 1ÖTW proves impressively that this difficult vintage has been fully underrated by professionals. Willy Bründlmayer would prefer a 2014 or 2016 to the highly appreciated 2015, if he had to go on a desert island and had the choice, as he told me during the tasting in late September 2019. The bouquet displays the obligatory subtle flinty/smoky background, yet here the fruit is not only ripe but also coolish, herbal and precise. The palate is round and elegant and displays a certain sweetness combined with a more phenolic character compared to 2016. The finish is slightly drying but also salty, long and tensioned yet that of a leaner, fine and elegant style. "In 2014, we had to wait very long until the ripeness came," says Bründlmayer. "Botrytis came yet wasn't good enough to be selected for the noble sweet wine categories Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese. Thus, all infected grapes were discharged and cut to the soil." For many years now, Bründlmayer's grands crus are always made from entirely healthy grapes.