We talk plenty about Grüner Veltiner’s capacity for refreshment and mineral expression, but we don’t talk enough about its potential for power and profundity. Bernhard Ott is keenly aware of what Grüner is capable of, and, with wines like today’s 2017, he shows it.

Sourced from an Erste Lage (Premier Cru) vineyard in the Kamptal called “Ried Stein,” this is a Grüner with the impact, layered texture, and length of a serious white Burgundy. It’s part of one of the most epic Grüner Veltliner lineups ever assembled, from a vintner whose deep devotion to Certified Biodynamic farming pays huge dividends. Any Grüner Veltliner crafted by Berhard Ott is going to be a vivid expression of grape and place, but “Ried Stein” truly kicks it up a notch, leaving Grüner fanatics like myself flabbergasted and grateful. “Stein” means “stone” and this wine is the chiseled product of a vineyard rooted in gneiss rock. It’s a showstopper you won’t soon forget.

Put simply, if you love Grüner Veltliner, you need to know Bernhard Ott. The man is straightforward about his passions: “Ich bin ein Veltliner!” (“I am Veltliner”) is his marketing battle cry, which he backs up with a lineup of some of the best single-vineyard expressions of the grape found anywhere. He is headquartered in the village of Feuersbrunn, which falls within the Wagram DAC but lay right near the border with the Kamptal district—as such, the Ott lineup contains both Wagram- and Kamptal-designated bottlings. Ott’s family has farmed its piece of Ried Stein since the late-1800s, but Bernhard, who took the reins of the estate in 1993, at the age of 21, has truly upped the ante: He is one of the founding members of Respekt, a producers’ association dedicated to biodynamic viticulture. In addition to applying the most rigorous farming practices in his vineyards, Bernhard is also known as a relentless experimenter, having recently begun fermenting whites using whole grape clusters and aging certain cuvées in large oak barrels. His 40 hectares of vineyards, 90% of which are planted to Grüner Veltliner, are all Certified Biodynamic.

The Kamptal, like its neighbors along the Danube in “lower” Austria, feels the same interplay of Alpine air from the northwest and warmer air from the Pannonian plain to the east. The soils here and in Wagram are dominated by loess, a sedimentary soil of sand and silt that is a little deeper and richer than some of the “primary rock” (gneiss, schist, granite) found further west. It is said to be Grüner Veltliner’s preferred soil type, producing richer, deeper styles, but “Ried Stein,” as its name would suggest, contains a substantial amount of gneiss. It undoubtedly contributes to the structure and impact of this wine: it has great richness but also a firm mineral grip and an electric charge of acidity.

Today’s ’17 was fermented in stainless steel and underwent a short maceration on its skins while it was in the press. It was aged on its lees in stainless steel for about eight months before bottling. In the glass, it is a classic straw-gold with hints of silver and green at the rim, with perfumed aromas of key lime, white grapefruit pith, green apple, fresh green herbs, white pepper, and crushed rock. The palate is medium-plus in body and full of tension, with citrus flavors carrying through to a stony, herbal finish. Ott has remarked that the conversion to biodynamics has enabled him to harvest Grüner a little earlier without sacrificing physiological ripeness—something I think is illustrated in this wine, which has the kind of gripping acidity (and moderate alcohol/residual sugar) that many modern Grüners lack. It will continue to improve over the next 5-7 years, but that won’t stop me from pulling corks now: Serve it at 50 degrees in all-purpose stems and pair it with a Chinese-style steamed whole fish. If you think the wine is mind-blowing on its own (it is), wait until you try the pairing! Enjoy!