2021 Weingut Schloss Gobelsburg Zweigelt, Kamptal, Austria

ABOUT THIS WINE

Zweigelt fits perfectly into the estate’s Burgundy focus, especially as this variety is related to Pinot Noir. The Zweigelt vineyards in Gobelsburg are found on banks of crushed gravelly stones that were formed during the last Ice Age.

The 2021 Zweigelt was grown on the southern edge of Kamptal on alluvial gravels. Subtle reduction is still smoky and flinty, and a sense of iron oxide swings amidst the cherry notes on the nose. The palate is juicy, medium-bodied, and full of fruit. A fine web of tannins holds some light white pepperiness and adds lovely energy to that rounded, juicy fruit.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

The Zwettl Monastery was founded in 1074 and in 1171 the Monks of Zwettl were granted their first vineyards: Heiligenstein & Gaisberg–the oldest documented sites in the Kamptal. The estate and Castle Gobelsburg were controlled by as many as 19 different families between 1074 and 1740, and in 1786 absorbed the famous Kammern Winery and vineyards. Two hundred years later Eva and Michael Moosbrugger were granted the winemaking and vinicultural contract in 1996, and with the help and guidance of Michael’s mentor Willi Bründlmayer, the winery regained its prestige and is considered to be a leader in quality and innovation. 

Schloss Gobelsburg maintains a large number of parcels in Erste Lagen, or 1st Growth, vineyards in the Kamptal, including the mineral-rich, crystalline slopes of the Gaisberg and Heiligenstein planted to Riesling, and the deep loess soils of Renner and Lamm planted to Grüner Veltliner. The winery continues to utilize organic winegrowing and has benefited from the fact that the monks of Zwettl Monastery began these practices as early as 1958.

Moosbrugger is convinced that the future Gobelsburg lies in individuality and character. As a high level of technology is necessary to warrant uniformity, he believes that individuality can only be achieved through the reduction of machines. Moosbrugger developed the ‘Dynamic Cellar Concept’ for Gobelsburg in which wines are no longer pumped from one location to the other but instead transported in ‘barrels on wheels’ from one section of the cellar to the other.

A hallmark of the estate is the ‘Tradition’ bottlings of Grüner Veltliner and Riesling. Having read the meticulous notations of the Cistercians at the estate over the past 150 years, Michi pays homage in his role as cellar master, responsible for the ‘education’ of his ‘pupils’ –wine- while leading them through élevage; as opposed to acting as ‘winemaker,’ whose decisions in present day Austria are generally to preserve aromatics and fruit through extremely reductive methods.