6-course Surprise Menu Dinner at Heurigenhof Bründlmayer with the Worldclass Wines of Weingut Bründlmayer in Langenlois, Kamptal, Austria (2023)

Heurigenhof Bründlmayer

Picture: Christian Schiller with Vincent Bründlmayer, Weingut Bründlmayer, in Washington DC

 

Pictures: Christian Schiller and Willi Bründlmayer, Weingut Bründlmayer, in the Rheingau, Germany

Weingut Bründlmayer (90ha)
Langenlois / Kamptal / Austria (Skurnik Wines)

“Nearly every wine, from the light Grüner Veltliner to the red wines and the sparkling wines, has the potential to be the best of that vintage in its category,” declares Peter Moser, editor and publisher of Falstaff Wine Guide, Austria’s most respected and comprehensive wine publication. Also named in 2009 by Wine & Spirits Magazine “the best Austrian winemaker of the last 25 years,” Willi Bründlmayer farms 90 hectares of Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, St. Laurent, Zweigelt and Burgundian varieties from an impressive collection of grand cru vineyards around Langenlois. In 2016 Andreas Wickhoff MW  joined the estate and as general manager works alongside Willi in all aspects.

Some of the most geologically diverse terroirs in Europe are here, in the heart of the Kamptal. The Danube and Kamp rivers and the wooded hills of the Waldviertel forest create a climate with large diurnal temperature swings, essential to a long growing season. These rocky, terraced vineyards are not the steep, jagged terraces of the Kremstal or the Wachau; these are larger wider terraces, each creating its own micro climate. The most famous vineyards in the region are located in the village of Zöbing. This small village is home to a number of ‘Grand Cru’ (Erste Lagen) vineyards, including the Zöbinger Heiligenstein, composed of 250 million year old sandstone and the Lamm, at the base of the Heiligenstein, where loess fills fissures and cracks in the sandstone. Bründlmayer has holdings in other top vineyards in the area, including Käferberg, across the Kamp river valley from the Heiligenstein, with marine deposits over primary rock, as well as the Loiserberg and Steinmassel. Bründlmayer has a very high proportion of old vines, with many plantings over 50 years old, and a parcel in the Heiligenstein planted in the 1920s.

Willi has converted some (17ha in total) of his vineyards to the Lyre training system, which he helped develop. Vines are trained low to the ground, to benefit from the warmth of the primary rock soils, then the canes are trained at an angle upward and perpendicular to the row, which doubles the sunlit and aired foliage surface and improves grape ripeness. The well-aired leaves also dry faster, thus reducing the risk of dreaded grape mildew.

As of 2019, Bründlmayer is certified organic by LACON, an outside, objective, certifying body. During harvest, multiple selections through the vineyard are made, as botrytis is never accepted. Grapes are never de-stemmed or crushed, and they are handled as minimally as possible. A tiny portion of grapes are held back, de-stemmed, and macerated for 12 hours; Willi uses these as ‘seasoning’ during blending to add another dimension and tonality to the final wines.

• Vineyard area: 90 hectares
• Top sites:
  • Zobinger Heiligenstein: 250 million year old Permian desert sandstone with feldspar (volcanic) and siltstone
  • Langenloiser Steinmassel: Literally “Stone Mass“ – Permian rock with mica-schist
  • Kammerner Lamm: Calcerous and loamy with underlying loess, the sites higher on the hill have most sandstone and silt from Heiligenstein erosion.
  • Langenloiser Berg-Vogelsang: A variety of mica schist called “Gföhler Gneiss” some of the amphibolite stones in the vineyards even contain garnets.
• Grape varieties: 33% Grüner Veltliner, 25% Riesling, 15% Pinot Noir, 10% Chardonnay, 17% other varieties

Dinner - 6-course Surprise Menu

Gault Millau (14,5/20 - 2 Toques): Ein Glas Bründlmayer-Sekt, dazu Butter, Brot und Kresse. Auf Wunsch kann man im Restaurant das Gedeck auch mit einigen Spezialitäten erweitern. Wir verzichten diesmal auf diese Option und lassen uns lieber den gebeizten Hirschrücken mit gegrilltem Römersalat und die Consomée vom Waldviertler Bio-Huhn mit Bockshornnudeln schmecken. Beide Gerichte hätten mehr Pfiff – Stichwort Gewürze – vertragen. Die gleichen Erfahrungen machen wir beim geflämmten Karfiol oder der confierten Forelle mit gegrillter Zucchini: gutes Essen, aber das gewisse Etwas fehlt. Bei der Nachspeise bleiben wir diesmal bei den Marillenpalatschinken, die uns die Küche auf unseren Wunsch zubereitet.

Night Cap at LOISIUM Wine & Spa Hotel Langenlois

After dinner, we walked back to the LOISIUM Wine & Spa Hotel Langenlois and had a glass of wine at the hotel bar.