Austria: Weingut Sepp Moser

The Moser family

Weingut Moser is an old and well-known family estate (partly due to famous ancestor Lenz Moser who pioneered new viticulture techniques in the 1950s) originally acquired in the mid 19th Century, although the Mosers have been connected with vineyards and wine for much longer than that; and it saw a rebirth and name tweak (to Sepp) with a little restructuring in the 1980s. Today it's run by son Nikolaus, who introduced biodynamic wine-growing methods in 2006 (certain vineyards are now Demeter certified) among other 'back-to-basics' ideas. They own vines in Kremstal (70 km/45 miles west of Vienna where the cellar and home is), Neusiedlersee, Lower Austria and Burgenland. At the family base in Rohrendorf near Krems, specific vineyards include the highly-rated Gebling (two wines sampled and tasting-noted below), an 8.5 ha (21 acre) plot featuring steep south-facing terraces. Apart from signature varieties "Grooner" and Riesling, they also have some Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, Pinot blanc, Muscat, a few red varieties and make a rosé too (as you do nowadays). I talked to Nikolaus and tasted these at this year's Millésime Bio organic wine show in Montpellier:


2011 Grüner Veltliner von den Terrassen - steely green-fruited and crisp start, turning juicy gummy and spicy then oilier too, lively fresh finish although not too acidic. Good. €8.50 cellar door.

2010 Grüner Veltliner Gebling - creamier fuller style with tantalising white pepper edges, vibrant and concentrated with yeast-lees tones then long steely finish. Very good. €12 cellar door.

2010 Riesling Gebling - aromatic 'chalky' nose with hints of celery, concentrated crisp and lively with lime fruit flavours, developing oily touches on the finish. Delicious wine. €16 cellar door.

2009 Grüner Veltliner 'Minimal' - very buttery with toasty hazelnut and fino notes, rich and tasty vs dry 'mineral' palate, superb finish and style. Different too. €25 cellar door.

2009 Riesling Beerenauslese - oily nose with orange peel nuances, lush sweet mouth-feel vs lovely bite and length vs lots of lingering dried fruit flavours. Classy sweetie. €24 cellar door.

These wines have pretty good distribution across Europe (including the UK and Ireland), North America, Japan, China, Australia & NZ and Israel: see www.sepp-moser.at.

LOTS MORE AUSTRIA HERE (Pfaffl, Grüner Veltliner Galore, "I'll be back..." and other archive features).