Heroes of the Wachau
The world of wine is studded with co-ops. Most work well enough on their own terms, but (with a few honourable exceptions) tend not to produce very exciting wines. Austria’s Domäne Wachau is another story altogether. This co-op has a strict regime, and the 250 members know their grapes won’t be accepted if they aren’t up to scratch. Director Roman Horvath, who has to manage harvest ‘like a military operation’, says quality is rarely a problem. The co-op members farm choice plots in many of the Wachau region’s best vineyards. They are also ferociously hard workers; if they weren’t, then they wouldn’t be trying to farm such challenging slopes. Roman calls them his ‘heroes of the winery’.
The Wachau Valley may be small (responsible for only 2% of Austria’s total wine output), but it is dramatically beautiful. Vines are cultivated on the steep slopes on the north bank of the Danube. Cliffs absorb and re-radiate the heat of the sun. Warm air currents from Hungary’s Pannonian Plain face off against cold Alpine air currents, resulting in some dramatic temperature swings. This in turn leads to wines that combine structure, ripeness and acidity. It is this that has made Wachau Austria’s most prestigious wine region.
Wachau also has its own unique classification system. Smaragd is the top level, for white wines made from the ripest grapes in the best sites. Among these is Achleiten, a celebrated site that was being recommended for wine as far back as the twelfth century. Domäne Wachau growers are well-represented here, and the winery releases both a complex and intense Riesling and an aromatic, spiced Grüner Veltliner. Roman notes that Grüner Veltliner (Austria’s signature variety) has as much aging potential as Riesling – but is rarely given the chance. /NT
Offered subject to remaining unsold; available imminently
