2016 Bründlmayer Grüner Veltliner Vincents Spiegel

Bründlmayer

Austria / Kamptal / Bründlmayer

The name of the vineyard "Spiegel" (mirror) is said to derive from Latin “spectaculum”(“look-out”). In the ancient times of the “Limes”, the Romans probably used the spot to observe the Germanic tribes to the north of the Danube. However, still up to now most people think that the name is linked to the convex vaulting of the 300m hill, a kind of “mirror” to the sky. The vineyards occupy an elongated ridge in the south of Langenlois. The deep, calcareous soils here are derived from a thick underlying layer of loess with a balanced mineral composition. Occasional thin layers of sandy gravels and palaeosols indicate different climatic phases during the deposition of the loess.
This vineyard bears old Grüner Veltliner vines that produce wines with a unique weight, concentration, and extract sweetness. Vincent Bründlmayer took over this Grüner Veltliner vineyard from his family in 2010 and produced his first “Vincents Spiegel” in 2011.
Immediately after whole cluster pressing, the must enters on the one hand wooden barrels (Manhartsberg oak, acacia and French barrique) and on the other hand a stainless steel tank (30% of the blend). After fermentation, the wine is stirred weekly on its lees weekly over three months. Finally, the casks were racked into one big wooden barrel for further maturation. Alcohol 12.5%; total acidity: 6.3g/L; residual sugar: dry.
Initially reductive with a yeasty background, then followed with fruity fireworks led by Mirabelle plum and yellow peach. Concentrated and expressive with an exotic touch. Oak is well integrated. Powerful body, but finely chiselled and defined. Already quite open, exuding sweet fruit and all indications of a great Grüner Veltliner. Salty caramel notes linger on the long finish. - Andreas Wickhoff MW, Bründlmayer

October, 2018

Stuart Pigott

jamessuckling.com

93 points

A well structured yet cool and rather sleek Grüner Veltliner with a rather closed nose, but very good potential if you can be patient. Long, firm and texturally complex finish. From organically grown grapes. Better from 2019.

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About Bründlmayer

This is probably Austria's number one estate outside the Wachau. If you are to believe former World Champion sommelier Andreas Larsson, Bründlmayer is in fact the nation’s finest, bar none. However you look at it, this is another one of the world’s top white winegrowers. The winery is situated in Langenlois, some 70 km northwest of Vienna, upstream along the Danube in the Lower Austrian Kamp Valley. The wooded hills of the Waldviertel protect the vineyards from the cold north-westerly winds. During the day, the sun warms the stony terraces, while at night the fresh, fragrant forest air drifts through the Kamp Valley into the Langenloiser Arena. The Kamptal is not far from the Wachau or Kremstal but it does throw up a whole different terroir and style mix. Grüner Veltliner and Riesling are still kings but there are no Federspiel/Smaragd categories. The wines of Bründlmayer are dry, mineral, powerful and harmonious.
Since 1980 this talented winemaker has transformed 125 acres of terraces, set above the Danube in Langenlois, into a beacon for Austrian wine. Jancis Robinson on Willi Bründlmayer

About

“Since 1980 this talented winemaker has transformed 125 acres of terraces, set above the Danube in Langenlois, into a beacon for Austrian wine.” So wrote Jancis Robinson of Willi Bründlmayer, who inherited from his father a love and respect for nature that has become more profound through travels to other major winegrowing regions of the world. Only organic fertilisers such as composted vegetable matter are used in the estate’s vineyards. Ecological harmony has absolute priority here: when old vineyards are grubbed up they are left fallow for five years before replanting so that the soil can regain its natural fertility; clover and wild herbs regenerate it and create an ideal meadow habitat for bees and butterflies. To prevent erosion, water sumps have been created at regular intervals, which also help to improve the micro-climate. Willi never uses herbicides to control the growth of weeds. Thanks to him, the family name has become synonymous with reliable, top-quality Austrian winemaking, making some of the very best wines the country has to offer. At the turn of the millennium, Decanter magazine cited Willi among the 50 most likely people to change the face of the world of wine in the coming decades, which goes some way to demonstrating the esteem in which he is held at home and in the broader world of wine.