Popping Corks: The Second Vinous Sekt
Report

BY ANNE KREBIEHL MW | MAY 6, 2025

The renaissance of German and Austrian Sekt continues apace. After
<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/evoe-german-and-austrian-sekt-report-mar-2024">last year’s paean</a> to the revival of bottle-fermented
Sekt in both countries, this is the second report on all things German-speaking
and bottle-fermented. The wines in this report again hail from Austria—Niederösterreich,
Vienna, Burgenland and Steiermark—and 12 of Germany’s 13 growing regions.

Aspiration and Reality

Clear ambition is apparent in both countries, as is growing
awareness of the trend that is fine Sekt. But it is also clear that only a
handful of players know how to achieve the highest level of quality. Long lees-aging
alone does not make a fine Sekt, nor does single-site provenance. It takes more
than that, namely farming specifically for Sekt base wine in terms of yield and
ripeness parameters, choosing the right picking date, pressing carefully and
separating press fractions. No matter what style of Sekt winemakers are aiming
to produce, these cornerstones are non-negotiable. Many still get it wrong, but
more and more are on the right path—newcomers as well as more established
players who are fine-tuning every year. For this year’s report, for instance, I
reviewed the Sekts of Felix Keller (son of Klaus Peter Keller), as well as the
new Blanc de Noirs from Gunderloch and AdamsWein, winemakers from Rheinhessen
who craft excellent still wines but are well aware that making Sekt is a different
game altogether.

Keller: Just One Example of Serious Intent

Felix Keller is a perfect embodiment of Germany’s new
Sektmaker generation. He trained at Reichsrat von Buhl in the Pfalz. At the
time, then-Technical Director Mathieu Kauffmann (former chef de cave at Champagne
Bollinger) was &nbsp;tasked with making fine
Sekt. [As an aside, some of the Sekts Kauffmann made during this period were
finally disgorged and released by Reichsrat von Buhl and submitted for review.)
Felix Keller says, “It was Mathieu who inspired me first.” This spurred Keller to
train in Champagne, where he worked with the Bérèche brothers in Montagne de
Reims. “This is why I have been making Sekt at home since 2018,” Keller adds,
starting with just 200 bottles. Klaus Peter Keller was happy for his son to
make Sekt at the home estate but insisted it should be done “properly,” explaining,
“We decided to go to the Zellertal, at higher altitude with active lime in the soil.
There, we decided rigorously which parcels were to be dedicated to Sekt and which
to still wine, with one exception. When we see that Riesling has great Strahlkraft
[radiance] and acidity, say in the Abtserde or Schubertslay, we may make an
exception and bottle some Sekt base.” Felix Keller continues, “We said from the
start that we only would make Sekt from top sites, from Grosse Lagen in
the Zellertal.” Father and son intend to bottle single-site Sekts in “great
years” while having also maintaining a constant multi-vintage, site-blended Grande
Cuvée. The Kellers have already increased production to 2,500 bottles with the plan
to scale up to 10,000 bottles a year, and they continue to build up their
reserves. New plots dedicated to Sekt are planted at very high densities with newly
developed rootstocks. “We [the family] were all convinced of this new project,
but the expertise and feel for Sekt is with Felix,” says Klaus Peter Keller. Sekt-lovers
have much to look forward to. While latitudes are only one aspect of many that
define climate, Readers should note that Zellertal, at 49.64° is further north
than Avize (48.97°N), Ludes (49.15°N) and Reims (49.25°N), albeit with less
Atlantic influence. A quick glance over to Austria shows that Langenlois in the
Kamptal lies at 48.47°N and Poysdorf in the Weinviertel at 48.66°N, while Les
Riceys, deep in the Côte des Bar, is at 47.99°N.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1746470899092-This+father-and-son+team+leaves+nothing+to+chance.+Felix+%28left%29+and+Klaus+peter+keller+in+their+Zellertal+vineyards_Vinous.jpg">This father-and-son team leaves nothing to chance. Felix (left) and Klaus Peter Keller are pictured here in their Zellertal vineyards. 

Classics, Non-Classics and Riesling

In varietal terms, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and blends of both,
often with portions of Pinot Meunier and Pinot Blanc, predominate in this
report, both in Sekts from Austria and Germany. There are great examples of
brilliantly pure Blanc de Blancs and beautifully taut and structured Blanc de Noirs
made from the two chief varieties, while a handful of pure Pinot Blanc Sekts
show respectable results. Welschriesling is a well-known Sekt base in Austria
and crops up occasionally, albeit in blends, where the variety can add
brightness and acidity. Zierfandler, the rare specialty of Austria’s
Thermenregion, likewise lends both substance and freshness to Sekt. I am still
not sure what to make of pure Grüner Veltliner Sekt, but Jurtschitsch proves
that in the right hands, this often savory variety can shine. The Austrian red
grapes Zweigelt and Sankt Laurent, on the other hand, lend themselves exquisitely
to Sekt, with Zweigelt having quite some track record, especially for Rosé wines. Various other varieties like Muskat
Ottonel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Blaufränkisch, Sauvignon Blanc, Roter Veltliner,
Silvaner and Kerner also make an appearance but struggle to convince as Sekt.

Rieslingsekt

With its slender body and high acidity, Riesling is most
certainly suited to Sekt production. While there are some Austrian
Rieslingsekts in this report, it seems to be a rather German discipline and USP. There is
well-documented history of Sparkling Hock and Sparkling Moselle successfully
conquering world markets at the turn of the 20th century. But Riesling is
tricky when it comes to Sekt, for two reasons. One, Riesling has far more
terpenes in its skins than Pinot varieties or Chardonnay, which makes it a
semi-aromatic grape that yields a distinctly different style of Sekt. Second,
few other varieties go through such a dramatic transition from primary to tertiary
flavor development. In stylistic terms, this means that in the past, Riesling’s
evolving fruit characteristics dominated Sekt flavors with notes of dried fruit,
honey and even petrol. Some producers underlined this further with a dosage of
sweet Riesling, often Auslese, rather than sugar solution. With bottle age,
these Sekts were either heightened, even sublimated visions of Riesling or
caricatures of it. Why? Because getting it right is really difficult. Today,
however, a new kind of Rieslingsekt plays on texture, slenderness, brightness
and site expression rather than mere fruit, made by people equipped with far
more experience, understanding and insight.

Mathieu Kauffmann is one of Rieslingsekt’s greatest
proponents. He has his own Sekt project in the Pfalz together with Steffen and
Sophie Christmann of Weingut Christmann, and he consults at the Karthäuserhof
in the Ruwer Valley, which is now also making elegant Sekt under his direction.
Kauffmann explains, “In making Rieslingekt, I want only terroir, only
saltiness. The reflection of terroir in Riesling is, in all cases, as
interesting as in Chardonnay. There is something exciting about Riesling and
its complexity on limestone, sandstone or granite.” Kauffmann achieves this
with ripe fruit that has high enough acidity to allow it to go through full
malolactic fermentation. Luise Raumland, of the eponymous Sekt family, notes
that shading the fruit is key to ripening Riesling for Sekt production. The
reason is that grape skins exposed to full sunshine produce the flavor
precursors that lead to the famous petrol notes later on. Florian Lauer of
Weingut Peter Lauer achieves ideal ripeness by harvesting Sekt base wine at the
crest of his cool, elevated Saar slopes, where fruit ripens fully with long
hang-time and aroma development but retains great acidity. Ripeness parameters
are everything when it comes to making good Rieslingsekt, which is distinctly
different from Pinot- and Chardonnay-based Sekts. This is a real specialism
that has made strides in precision and quality.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1746470950838-Sekt+Cover.png">Brut Nature 

A striking 37% of the Sekts reviewed here are labeled as Brut
Nature. Disregarding the labeling and looking at dosage only, 42% of them have
no dosage, while one-fifth of these have a dosage of up to 3 g/L. This means
that almost two-thirds have no or low dosage. A further 16% have a dosage up to
5g/L. I can only imagine that this stems from a desire to depict these wines
with as much purity and honesty as possible. It is striking how well this works,
and yes, I am aware of the controversy surrounding zero-dosage wines and the
doubts about their longevity. For this report, I tasted mature zero-dosage
wines, older than a decade, and they were in fine fettle. The top-scoring wines
here can certainly stand shoulder to shoulder with other effervescent
highlights from around the globe. It was a joy to taste them.

I tasted the wines in this report in late 2024 at home in
London, with a handful tasted during my regional visits in Germany in July,
August and September 2024.© 2025, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.<hr> You Might Also Enjoy<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/2023-burgenland-and-austria-s-east-gorgeous-reds-aromatic-whites-and-killer-sweets-mar-2025">2023 Burgenland and Austria’s East: Gorgeous Reds, Aromatic Whites and Killer Sweets</a>, Anne Krebiehl MW, March 2025<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/2023-mosel-saar-ruwer-a-riesling-race-against-rain-dec-2024">2023 Mosel-Saar-Ruwer: A Riesling Race Against Rain</a>, Anne Krebiehl MW, December 2024<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/rheinhessen-rheingau-riesling-triumphs-after-rain-oct-2024">Rheinhessen &amp; Rheingau: Riesling Triumphs After Rain</a>, Anne Krebiehl MW, October 2024<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/2023-wachau-and-lower-austria-mercurial-weather-gods-smiled-in-the-end-jul-2024">2023 Wachau and Lower Austria: Mercurial Weather Gods Smiled in the End</a>, Anne Krebiehl MW, July 2024<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/evoe-german-and-austrian-sekt-report-mar-2024">Evoe! German and Austrian Sekt Report</a>, Anne Krebiehl MW, March 2024

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