Prefer the old site?Launch →

Jurtschitsch

“Our tenth vintage farming organically was definitely the most challenging,” observed Alwin Jurtschitsch of 2016. He credited “intuitive sense” (Fingerspitzengefühl) and the right “gut reactions” (Bauchentscheidungen) with a significant share of his team’s success in battling peronospora - though the main determinant was surely sheer physical effort in unstintingly treating the vines, even when that meant (as it usually did this year) on foot with a canister strapped to your back. The April frost killed buds in many of the Jurtschitsch vineyards, but secondary growth eventually managed to ripen. That having been noted, 2016 still illustrated the Jurtschitsches’ increasing tendency to begin harvesting earlier than most of their neighbors, reflecting a premium placed on ample acidity and modest potential alcohol. Picking commenced on September 13, although the last grapes – predictably, Riesling from Heiligenstein – did not arrive in the press house until a full seven weeks later. There was a significant early October pause on account of some rain, but this was followed by brilliant weather that promoted flavor maturation without raising must weights or significantly lowering acidity. Virtually all of the present collection’s wines – whether Riesling or Grüner Veltliner; generic, village-level or single-vineyard – finished under 13% alcohol. Speaking of “finishing,” while even the top single-vineyard bottlings at this address have been getting closed under screwcaps for nearly a decade, the Jurtschitsches explained to me that every year they bottle a couple of cases of each wine under ostensibly top-grade natural corks so as to have a long-term basis of comparison.

The number of experimental wines collectively billed by the Jurtschitsches as “Discoveries from Langenlois” has now reached nine – including two sparklers – from among which I taste only whatever small subset they elect to show me in any given year. On the present occasion, only two such wines are reviewed. (For details concerning this estate’s vineyards, practices and recent history under Alwin and Stefanie Jurtschitsch, readers are urged to consult the extended introductions to my reports on their 2013s and 2014s.)

From Austria’s Riesling & Grüner Veltliner: 2016’s Challenges Met (Dec 2018) by David Schildknecht

Reviews

Wines

Sort by default

2016 Grüner Veltliner Langenlois

Release Price: $22

Color: White

Subscriber Access Only

or Sign Up

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.