Brandl 2018 Ried Heiligenstein Reserve Riesling (Kamptal)

Grand Cru Riesling from Austria is one of the greatest values in a collectible white and although it is hard to find older examples that doesn’t mean this wine will not age gracefully for decades in your cellar. Also, it’s very important to decanter these great whites.

REGION: KAMPTAL, LOWER AUSTRIA, AUSTRIA
GRAPE(S): RIESLING
WINEMAKER: GUNTHER BRANDL

Gunther Brandl is a soft-spoken 2nd generation winemaker who is producing wine much in the style that his father did. His wines are pure and focused and he uses a combination of fermenting in stainless steel tank as well as old oak casks that fit tightly side by side in the original hall of his family’s cellars dug into the hillside at the base of the Heiligenstein vineyard. Gunther’s Riesling is mineral-driven, and in its youth can be extremely nervy, but with nice richness. Delicate aromatics of white flowers and stone fruits lead into flavors of Asian pear and white peach, with a zesty lemon-lime finish.

PAIRINGS: SLOW ROASTED CHICKEN WITH DUMPLINGS

Wine Enthusiast 94 Points

Wonderfully ripe stone fruit—think apricot and yellow peach—are mellow and juicy on the nose. The palate takes this juiciness and tapers it toward a lovely, zesty core of ripe Mandarin orange. This is concentrated, and a real sense of drive underlies the juicy body. Lovely, animating and dry on the finish.