2013 Grüner Veltliner Tradition, Schloss Gobelsburg

Schloss Gobelsburg

Schloss Gobelsburg, situated close to the town of Langenlois, is the oldest and best wine producer in the region of Kamptal. Kamptal lies between Linz and Vienna, and it is one of the three adjacent regions which make the finest wines in Austria, the other two being Wachau and Kremstal, all enjoying both the scenic magnificence and vinous potential offered by the River Danube.

Schloss Gobelsburg's history was influenced both by the Hapsburg Emperors, who built the eponymous castle in the 16th century, and the Cistercian monks, who introduced vines as far back as 1171, a mere year after England had endured the murder of its most famous archbishop in its most famous cathedral.

Indeed the vines were only ceded to their current owners, Wilhelm Brundlmayer and Michael Moosbrugger, in 1995. With an encyclopedic tapestry of soils, organic viticulture and relatively traditional winemaking, Gobelsburg make superlative wines, in particular the single vineyards Riesling from Heiligenstein and Gaisberg and Grüner Veltliner from Lamm, Grubb and Renner.

The wines are seriously complex, gloriously rich and imbued with a real sense of place.

Grüner Veltliner

Grüner Veltliner is Austria's most famous grape variety. It is indigenous to Austria and is grown extensively in every Austrian wine region with the exception of Steiermark. It constitutes 36% of all vineyard plantings with the best wines coming from the north-east of the country, particularly regions such as the Wachau, Kamptal and Kremstal which border the Danube river.

Grüner Veltliner is a late ripening variety that typically produces wines that are pale green in colour and display fruit notes of grapefruits, limes, pears, and sometimes hints of white pepper. They normally possess a steely backbone of acidity which enables the best bottles to age gracefully. The grape's natural acidity accompanied by its restrained and understated fruit characters makes its wines ideal partners for food. A marvellous alternative to the more mainstream white grape varieties.