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Weingut Bernhard Ott, Grüner Veltliner “Fass 4”

Lower Austria, Austria 2015 (750mL)
$27.00
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Weingut Bernhard Ott, Grüner Veltliner “Fass 4”

In addition to making precise, delicious, and resolutely natural wines, Bernhard Ott has one of the greatest marketing slogans in wine history: “Ich bin ein Veltliner!” (“I am a Veltliner!”…it sounds even better when you say it in a John F. Kennedy-style Boston accent). Ott is a passionate young winemaker in the Wagram, one of Grüner Veltliner’s prime terroirs along the Danube northwest of Vienna, and he is something of a ‘Grüner Whisperer,’ bottling some of the best single-vineyard expressions of the grape from vineyards in Feuersbrunn and Engabrunn.
This wine is a blend of fruit from several vineyards, including the iconic “Rosenberg” in Feuersbrunn, and has become a sought-after bottling thanks to the incredible value-for-dollar it offers. “Fass 4” (meaning “Barrel #4, even though the wine is aged in steel) is a name derived from a particularly successful “lot” of wine Ott produced many years ago; it is now a flagship cuvée for the winery—a powerful, evocative introduction to an estate whose devotion to Grüner is second to none. If you haven’t yet tried Ott’s wines, now is the time to check out one of Austria’s ascendant superstars. The 2015 “Fass 4” is next-level Grüner!
Located just east of the Wachau/Kremstal/Kamptal triumvirate, the Wagram (formerly Donauland) sees the same interplay of Alpine air from the northwest and warmer air from the Pannonian plain to the east. The soils 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 Grüner Veltliner’s preferred soil type, producing richer, deeper styles with distinctive spice characteristics. 

The Ott family has been in the Wagram since 1889. Fourth-generation Bernhard Ott took over for his father in 1995, and his first order of business was a total overhaul of the property—including a wholesale conversion to biodynamic farming. His 28 hectares of vineyards, 90% of which are planted to Grüner Veltliner, are now certified biodynamic by an Austrian body called RESPEKT.

“Fass 4” is sourced from an assortment of vineyards around the family’s top crus, “Rosenberg” and “Spiegel,” and is fermented and aged in stainless steel. The 2015 vintage is known for forward, robust wines and Ott’s does not disappoint: In the glass it is a classic pale straw-gold, while the inviting nose includes notes of key lime, white grapefruit pith, green apple, fresh green herbs, white pepper, and crushed rock. The palate is medium-bodied, with citrus flavors carrying through with a few tropical notes layered on top. The wine has great depth but also great focus—an almost architectural precision that calls to mind perfectly squared-off paving stones. Ott has remarked that the conversion to biodynamics has enabled him to actually 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 would certainly reward short-term aging (2-5 years), but I’m happy to drink it now: Serve this diamond-cut white at around 50 degrees in white wine stems alongside this recipe for Braised Artichokes. Yes, artichokes. If any wine in the world can handle them, it’s Grüner. Especially this Grüner—it’s one of the best I’ve had in quite a while!
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Country
Austria
Region
Lower Austria
Sub-Region
AustriaWagram
Soil
Loess
Farming
Organic and Biodynamic
Blend
Grüner Veltliner
Alcohol
12.5
OAK
None
TEMP.
50
Glassware
White Wine or Red Bordeaux
Drinking
Now-2022
Decanting
Optional
Pairing
Braised Artichokes

Austria

Northeastern Austria

Weinviertel

Considered by most to be the oldest growing zone in Austria, Weinviertel is also, geographically, the largest in the country and covers the vast, northeastern expanse of Lower Austria, stretching from the western border of Slovakia, following the Danube inland and veering up to the southern border of Czechia. Its name, which translates to “wine quarter,” reflects the region’s rich, ancient wine heritage and, according to the Weinviertel DAC website, there are “7,000 years of artifacts to prove it.”

Northeastern Austria

Wachau

Austria’s Wachau appellation is the country’s most acclaimed region. About an hour northwest of Vienna along the Danube River, the vista of the steep, terraced vineyards of the Wachau creates a magnificent landscape akin to a verdant, ancient amphitheater—it is a UNESCO World Heritage site, after all. With rich and unique soils here of löess and gneiss, which lend vivid minerality to the wine.

Eastern Austria

Burgenland

The Burgenland appellation, running along Austria’s border with Hungary southeast of Vienna, has a diverse topography and a mix of soils, with more primary rock and slate at higher locations and dense loams in the rolling hills that extend toward the Pannonian plain.

Southeastern Austria

Steiermark

The region of Styria (Steiermark) is in southeastern Austria which sits near the border with Slovenia. This area is studded with long-extinct volcanoes whose deposits are a key component of the local soils and the vineyards benefit from a classic Austrian push-pull of cool Alpine air and warmer “Pannonian” currents from the east.

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