Last year I asked Bernhard Ott why he has turned his back on Qvevre which I considered to be a unique and highly satisfying exploration of the soul and core of grüner veltliner. He said that the ancient technique of whole bunch fermentation and long ageing in amphorae dug into the ground had a homogenizing effect erasing the elusive terroir features and at the present stage of his learning curve he could see nothing more important than to produce elegant, transparent wines able to reflect the individuality of his vineyards.
I thought that there was still room for this small scale speciality but on the other hand I was completely blown away by the quality of his single vineyard wines. The Kirchthal Edition JRE is a new item in the Ott range and the most affordable of the single vineyard bottlings. JRE stands for Jeunes Restaurateurs (www.jre.at), you can read the story here.
Having recently tasted the easily accesible and much cheaper 2017 Fass 4 I’m sad to say that Kirchthal is in a different league. In fact I don’t think I have ever tasted a better grüner in the comfort of my own home.
This is a most inviting, civilized, charming and utterly delicious wine. It shows all sorts and shades of citrus with some mangoes, pears and white pepper. The palate is midweight, poised, silky and creamy but it retains a good level of freshness. A confident and transparent wine up there with the best.
7-8 points and 27 euros.
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