Over the years we have told a lot of tales. More than a few of them have been about a new\nstar coming to market that was going to have a significant impact. This one is more of a rebirth of sorts that\nhas the potential to have greater impact as time passes in the rather specific\narea of Austrian whites. For the time\nbeing, it is important to understand the \u2018players\u2019, and as importantly the\ndirt, or the stones as this elevated site is a bit light on topsoil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Without going into a whole Mitchneresque reach back to the\nformation of the earth, Atzberg and Singgeriegel are virtually identical in\ntheir composition of red stones, slate and gneiss with little topsoil. Eventually they were separated by a stream\ncalled Mieslingbach. Singgeriegel went\non to become recognized as one of, if not the top vineyard in the Wachau. Atzberg can trace its history back to the 13th<\/sup>\nCentury and the building called Mauritiushof was used by the monks to collect\ngrapes. The Gritsch family bought the\nproperty in 1799, and used the building for wine production. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In recent times the Atzberg Vineyard itself was not cultivated. It\u2019s terraced vineyards high on the hill were unplanted until winemaker Franz-Josef Gritsch and his partners Hans Schmid and Robert Wutzl decided that the spot was too special and important a site to be ignored. They dove in and ‘recultivated’ this historic site with the idea of restoring it to its formal elite status that was mentioned in records as far back as 1382.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everything is \u2018old school\u2019. This 100% Gruner Veltliner vineyard is labor-intensive, with the grapes handpicked and carried in small tubs down to the lower valley. The thinking was that, given the history, if Singgeriegel is such an iconic vineyard, so too should Atzberg be among the stars of the region. If the Atzberg Gruner Veltliner Steilterrassen 2016<\/a><\/strong> (Steilterrassen literally means \u2018steep terraces\u2019) is any indication, the \u2018reclamation\u2019 project is going quite swimmingly. The juice in the glass definitely gets one\u2019s attention. It begins with a harmonious succession of aromas such as red berries, earthy minerality, apple, pear, wild herbs and spices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the mouth, all of this reveals itself in a palate that has not only the anticipated lift but a fairly broad, ample, and tender feel.\u00a0 Some Gruners sting, this one does a lot more caressing while still delivering the kind of bright, energetic experience one expects from this varietal when done right.\u00a0 Somewhat kinder and gentler, it delivers loads of character and finishing salinity.\u00a0 While it should please established fans of the genre, it is capable of winning some new friends for Gruner by virtue of its friendlier texture.\u00a0 The breeding and complexity of the site in the glass support the effort Gritsch and friends have put into it.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n We don\u2019t have any flashy reviews. We didn\u2019t find any on this specific vintage, but\ndidn\u2019t really need them to validate that this was exciting stuff. Also, given the laborious nature of the site,\nwe found the price to be more than fair, particularly when compared to an\n\u2018upper cuvee\u2019 from the site called Obere that literally costs more than twice\nas much. Delicious Gruner that can play\nwith serious food should you choose, this is an early look into what we expect\nto be recognized as one of the superstar sites of the region soon enough. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Over the years we have told a lot of tales. More than a few of them have been about a new star coming to market that was going to have a significant impact. This one is more of a rebirth of sorts that has the potential to have greater impact as time passes in the … Continue reading “ALT WHITES: PART 3”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[40],"tags":[94,591,206,207,592],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winex.com\/stockreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3412"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winex.com\/stockreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winex.com\/stockreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winex.com\/stockreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winex.com\/stockreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3412"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.winex.com\/stockreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3418,"href":"https:\/\/www.winex.com\/stockreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3412\/revisions\/3418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winex.com\/stockreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winex.com\/stockreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winex.com\/stockreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}