In the racy footsteps of my recent post below on 2013 Grosses Gewächs Rieslings (links to it) from some of Germany's leading producers, Austria has introduced a similar vineyard ranking called Erste Lage (meaning something like Premier Cru) for the country's best-rated Riesling and Grüner Veltliner (mostly) wines.
The Jurtschitsch family wine estate, now run by Alwin and Stefanie (above), is located in the Kamptal region (found not far to the northwest of Vienna) and is made up of nearly 70 hectares (173 acres) of vines in several different undulating sites around the pretty town of Langenlois (there are a few top winery names based here so obviously well-situated for making very good white wines). The vineyards have been managed organically since 2006.
They appear to have good distribution around the world including ABS Wine Agencies in the UK (approx £ prices indicated), Quintessential Wines in Dublin (€ prices) and David Bowler Wine in NY USA - see www.jurtschitsch.com for more info about where you can find them (where the photo was downloaded from).
2012 Grüner Veltliner Loiserberg Erste Lage (13% abv) - Yeast-lees and maturing aromas with spicy floral edges, getting fuller and mellowing on the palate yet still pretty intense and fresh, subtle concentration. Less buzz than the 2013s though. £20 / €26.
2013 Grüner Veltliner Dechant 'Alte Reben' Erste Lage (13.5% abv) - Old vines. 'Gummy' zesty and 'chalky', steely vs oily mouth-feel showing good 'extract' and some roundness vs lively acidity and long finish. £23
2013 Grüner Veltliner Lamm Erste Lage (13.5% abv) - Pretty intense acidity and flavours, long linear palate showing fair weight too vs that crisp bite. Needs more time. £35
2013 Grüner Veltliner Schenkenbichel Erste Lage (13.5% abv) - More honeyed and richer with towards exotic fruit characters, a hint of sweetness adds roundness and weight vs steely acidity underneath and spicy tones as well. £35
2013 Riesling Loiserberg Erste Lage (13.5% abv) - Zippy lemon and lime aromas/flavours and 'chalky' texture, a light touch of sweetness and quite full-bodied on the final palate with intense and refreshing / 'mineral' and oily mix, tight long finish yet drinking fairly well now. £21 / €26
2013 Riesling Zöbinger Heiligenstein Erste Lage (13% abv) - Racy and classy Riesling with zippy 'chalky' mouth-feel vs aromatic lime fruit, tight and steely finish, more elegant and delicate. £21
They appear to have good distribution around the world including ABS Wine Agencies in the UK (approx £ prices indicated), Quintessential Wines in Dublin (€ prices) and David Bowler Wine in NY USA - see www.jurtschitsch.com for more info about where you can find them (where the photo was downloaded from).
2012 Grüner Veltliner Loiserberg Erste Lage (13% abv) - Yeast-lees and maturing aromas with spicy floral edges, getting fuller and mellowing on the palate yet still pretty intense and fresh, subtle concentration. Less buzz than the 2013s though. £20 / €26.
2013 Grüner Veltliner Dechant 'Alte Reben' Erste Lage (13.5% abv) - Old vines. 'Gummy' zesty and 'chalky', steely vs oily mouth-feel showing good 'extract' and some roundness vs lively acidity and long finish. £23
2013 Grüner Veltliner Lamm Erste Lage (13.5% abv) - Pretty intense acidity and flavours, long linear palate showing fair weight too vs that crisp bite. Needs more time. £35
2013 Grüner Veltliner Schenkenbichel Erste Lage (13.5% abv) - More honeyed and richer with towards exotic fruit characters, a hint of sweetness adds roundness and weight vs steely acidity underneath and spicy tones as well. £35
2013 Riesling Loiserberg Erste Lage (13.5% abv) - Zippy lemon and lime aromas/flavours and 'chalky' texture, a light touch of sweetness and quite full-bodied on the final palate with intense and refreshing / 'mineral' and oily mix, tight long finish yet drinking fairly well now. £21 / €26
2013 Riesling Zöbinger Heiligenstein Erste Lage (13% abv) - Racy and classy Riesling with zippy 'chalky' mouth-feel vs aromatic lime fruit, tight and steely finish, more elegant and delicate. £21