Schloss Gobelsburg Brut Reserve---Austrian Sparkler

And something more.

But excellent on its own.

It's made (in descending parts) from pinot noir, riesling and grüner veltliner; from the Gaisberg, Grub, and Lamm vineyards. Base wine stays 6 months in cask (longer than standard vins clairs in champagne) before being bottled, and remains 2 to 3 years on the lees.

It's one of the very best Austrian sparklers, btw - I personally find the style not too different from champagne, especially the impact and presence on palate, where it can easily concur with many basic champagne blends (bruts sans année).

M.

Michael, IIRC Schloss Gobelsburg is made by Bründlmayer, is it not? Is there anything that he doesn't do well?

Mark Lipton

Don't get me wrong....I really like this wine. But it was different in some manner than any champaigne I have ever had. I really enjoyed.

In past year I have been trying to explore wines that I have not typically had before. Different styles. This is one of the keepers.

Some of the GV's I like...some I did not.

I find Austrian wines hard to learn similar to me earliers days of burgs. Its fairly easy to learn California and Bordeaus...Burgs are much harder to learn.

Austrian seem similar. The regions and producers are hard since I have never viisted Austria. I had similar problems with Burgs until I spent time there learning.

You will always find an open cellar door here in Vienna - and somebody who will do practice with you ;-)

M.

Well, Bründlmayer has a 50% stake in Gobelsburg, the other half-owner is Michael Moosbrugger. Initially the estate was run after his guidelines, but even some years ago he told me: "I'm like a coach outside the playground. I'm there when Michael should need me, but he rarely needs me anymore."

Well, there are distillers making better brandy than he does ...

M.

Thanks...I might have to visit...the wine country there looks beautiful.

Did not realize it was a blend.

Excellent wine.

For a UK opinon of Schloss Gobelsburg, consider what Hugh Johnson has to say in his 2005 Pocket Wine Book.

"Gobelsburg, Schloss *** Renowned 86-acre estate in Kamptal revitalized since 1996. Excellent dry Riesling and Grüner Veltliner."

"Brüdlmayer, Willi r w sp ***>**** 90 92 93 94 95 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 Leading Langenlois-Kamptal estate. V.gd wines: both local (Rieslng, Grüner Veltliner) and intenational styles, inc Chardonnay. Also Austria's best Sekt."

Sekt is the name for sparkling wines in German speaking countries. In the past, much fairly ordinary Sekt has been made which has given many a low opinion of it. Often grapes from unripe years in Germany were used to make Sekt. However there have long been better brands of Sekt. However, even for outstanding Sekt, one should not expect it to be a clone of Champagne, because the growing conditions and mix of grapes used to make Sekt and Champagne often are quite different. In Germany, sometimes the better Sekt is labeled with Riesling or some other grape name. Cheap German sekt has long been easy to find in export markets includng the US. Finding the best quality German sekt ,and top Austrian wines in general, can sometimes be difficult in many export markets, including the US.

Reply to snipped-for-privacy@cwdjr.net .

I am sorry...I don't really understand what Hugh Johnson is saying here.

Is it good or not. I think he says not comp to Champagne?

"Gobelsburg, Schloss *** Renowned 86-acre estate in Kamptal revitalized since 1996. Excellent dry Riesling and Grüner Veltliner."

"Brüdlmayer, Willi r w sp ***>**** 90 92 93 94 95 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 Leading Langenlois-Kamptal estate. V.gd wines: both local (Rieslng, Grüner Veltliner) and intenational styles, inc Chardonnay. Also Austria's best Sekt."

Sekt is the name for sparkling wines in German speaking countries. In the past, much fairly ordinary Sekt has been made which has given many a low opinion of it. Often grapes from unripe years in Germany were used to make Sekt. However there have long been better brands of Sekt. However, even for outstanding Sekt, one should not expect it to be a clone of Champagne, because the growing conditions and mix of grapes used to make Sekt and Champagne often are quite different. In Germany, sometimes the better Sekt is labeled with Riesling or some other grape name. Cheap German sekt has long been easy to find in export markets includng the US. Finding the best quality German sekt ,and top Austrian wines in general, can sometimes be difficult in many export markets, including the US.

Reply to snipped-for-privacy@cwdjr.net .

What Hugh Johnson is saying is very good. His *** and **** star general ratings are only given for top wines. Also he states that Bründlmayer makes Austria's best Sekt(sparkling wine). I assume the increased quality of Schloss Gobelsberg wines in general since 1996 mentioned by Johnson is at least partly due to the association of Bründlmayer with them as mentioned by Michael Pronay. The reason I added comments about sekt in general is because it has somewhat of a bad reputation in some places because many people only have had the cheap product put out by large mass shippers of wines - the Liebfraumilch of sparkling wines, if you will.

Reply to snipped-for-privacy@cwdjr.net .

thanks for the clarification. I understand.

Reply to snipped-for-privacy@cwdjr.net .