With its mineral laden Grüners and bone dry, opulent Rieslings, Austria has earned a well deserved reputation as the source of some of the world’s best white wines. This small central European country kinda has... Read More

With its mineral laden Grüners and bone dry, opulent Rieslings, Austria has earned a well deserved reputation as the source of some of the world’s best white wines. This small central European country kinda has it all. An almost perfect climate for producing white wine with complexity and poise. Incredibly varied geology from dramatic alpine terraces to undelating river valleys as well as winemaking traditions that stretch back wheel over a millenia.

So as one might expect a lot of winemaking in Australia follows a very traditional model and while I love many of those producers I think some of the country's best wines are being crafted by the hands of an iconoclast. Peter Veyder-Malberg and his eponymous winery are making some of the most deeply pure and thought provoking wine anywhere in the world. His winery and vineyards are located in the Wachau Gorge, An UNESCO World Heritage site, arguably the most prestigious winegrowing region in the country, and its most visually stunning.

Peter achieved his unbridled success by rocking the Wachau wine making establishment. From farming to winemaking he does his own way which just happens to be extremely laborious. He farms in a manner that is beyond organic or biodynamic. His neighbors who favor control and often use lots of modern chemicals and technology to achieve it think he is more than a bit crazy. Peter's goal in his vineyards is to be the catalyst for communication between the birds, creatures, plants, microorganism and the root systems of his precious old vines. All vineyard work is done by hand and intuition. There is never a use of any synthetic chemicals and even biodynamic preparations are used judiciously. The goal is to give the vineyard the tools they need to remain healthy on their own.

Also in contrast to his neighbors, Peter works exclusively on terraced vineyards that were abandoned because of how laborious they are to work. The vast majority of Veyder-Malberg’s vineyards are located on the far western end of the Wachau wine region in its coldest zone, the Spitzer Graben, which in former times apparently was where the Danube once flowed. This location is prime for hail and the Danube offers no help with the frost. Other sections of Veyder-Malberg’s vineyards are on the Danube and go all the way to the far eastern end of the appellation.

On the upper slopes the soils consist of a thin layer of gravelly decomposed bedrock over ancient igneous and metamorphic bedrock formations. This very low vigor soil is perfect for Riesling. The lower slopes are closer to the river with loess soil mixed with river sand and other alluvial sediment. This is perfect for the national grape of Austria, Gruner Veltliner, which prefers to be coddled in high nutrition, water retaining soils.

Harvest is done in a meticulous fashion. Most of the vineyards receive two passes in order to guarantee ideally ripe fruit. He does everything to completely avoid botrytis as this would get in the way of the pure flavors he is trying to achieve. Once they make it to the vineyard they may be macerated for up to 24 hours, depending on the year. Peter does make some fully skin contact wine as well. Basket pressed for 6-8 hours to give clean juice with quality tannins which helps with mouth feel and protection against oxidation, in turn lowering the amount of sulfites needed to properly protect the wine. Fermentations are all natural and in a mix (depending the wine) of stainless steel and 300-1500 liter old barrels and. Malolactic fermentation is always natural and usually is completed in Grüner Veltliner and rarely in Rieslings. Aged in either stainless or neutral oak the Riesling sees time in large Acacia Stockinger barrels.

All of this work and fighting the establishment has been well worth it. Peters vineyards are far more resilient to the frost and hail that plagues the Wachau and the resulting wine has a level of complexity that is rarely achieved. Some of the winemakers who were initially critical of the way he does things have come around, some even inspired to incorporate some of Peter's techniques.

When it comes to white wine Austria has always been my loadstar. Structured Savory herbaceous and mineral , the great wines of Australia are almost always immediately enjoyable while capable of aging into something almost otherworldly. In my opinion it doesn't get any better than the wines of Peter Veyder-Malberg. They are so thought provoking yet delicious that it's almost impossible to wrap your head around a bottle before it's gone. The only drawback is that, as one might expect, only a handful make it into the country.