Austria
2017 Gold: 3 Silver: 6 Bronze: 3 Commended: 7
2016 Gold: 4 Silver: 1 Bronze: 3 Commended: 4
It’s an oddity that, while somms generally love Riesling, they seem to struggle somewhat with versions from Austria. We’ve only had a handful of Golds in the last three competitions – and none at all this year.
Instead, we got a strong performance from the country’s USP variety, Grüner-Veltliner. It’s pushing it to say that it’s big with the public, but it’s certainly gathering momentum among the cognoscenti, and our tasters knew what they wanted from the variety, and more or less got it.
If you’re a submitter, you should think about putting in more Austrian reds, by the way. The number of entries is always limited, but somms love them.
And a special mention to Eschenhof Holzer for picking up a second consecutive Grüner Gold with its super well-priced Zero-G.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘Most of the Grüners felt too bland and flat. I want to lick the rock, to taste the terroir.’ Andrea Briccarello, team leader
‘I put Grüner on the tasting menu, it’s a food-friendly wine. What I’m looking for is good minerality, spiciness, nice acidity.’ Lionel Periner, team leader
‘There were some attempts with oak [in Grüner], but I didn’t find them very successful. The best way is the fresh way, that shows terroir.’ Marek Rakowski, Harbour Heights Hotel
‘I could see that Blaufränkisch with a burger…’ Andrés Ituarte, Coq d’Argent
‘Gemischter Satz can be really good, and really good value. I like that point of difference, loads of varieties, all mixed together.’ Charlie Young, Vinoteca
‘With the reds, all these dishes came into my head. I could imagine my clients saying “wow, this is different”. Michael Moore, The London Cookhouse