Weingut Grassl
Carnuntum rot Prellenkirchen 2021
Reviews
Falstaff
The Grassl winery is relatively small with an area of 27 hectares, but it is nevertheless well-situated and manageable. The Grassls conscientiously pursue their clearly outlined strategy. Their concept: focus on red wines, clear assortment, purist outward expression, functional cellar, labels without frills, no fashion fad wines. What counts is quality. Grassl produces "in harmony with nature" wines in the best sense of the term, but at an international level of quality: the local varieties Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent are the most important, and at least 50 percent of them are also included in all cuvées. Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah are merely intended to better bring out the existing strengths of the Zweigelt. Instead of 3,500 vines as in the past, there are now 5,000 to 6,500 vines per hectare in the vineyards. In the cellar, they work meticulously without intervention and treat the grapes as gently as possible in order to get their exceptional quality into the bottle. White wines and classic red wines are fermented and matured in stainless steel tanks or in large wooden barrels. The premium red wines are fermented in wooden fermentation vats - partly with the natural yeasts from the vineyard - and with manually submerged cap management. The premium red wines, the cuvées "Bärnreiser" and "Neuberg", as well as St. Laurent are matured in French barriques. A large part of the barrels are renewed annually to impart the dark fruit aromas with the structure of the wood. The wood note is not overemphasised, but accompanies and refines the maturation until bottling. 80 percent of the production are red wines, half of which are made up of the main variety Zweigelt. Pinot Noir and St. Laurent, which are traditional highlights of the winery, account for 25 percent. The remaining 25 percent are distributed among Blaufränkisch, Merlot and other international grape varieties. Philipp Grassl was named "Falstaff Winemaker of the Year" in 2018, and he is also always among the winners at the Falstaff Red Wine Awards.
Reviews
De Grote Hamersma 9/10
Maak kennis met Philipp Grassl in Göttlesbrunn. Selfmade man. Waar nu zijn proeflokaal is, liepen 25 jaar geleden nog de kippen. En waar de tanks en vaten staan, stond de grote hooischuur. Inmiddels is zijn bedrijf 27 hectare groot en behoort het - mede door Grassl's cultwijn Bärnreiser Réserve - tot de beste van Oostenrijk; de toonaangevende wijngidsen Falstaff en Vinaria geven deze de hoogste score (5 sterren resp. 5 kronen). Kortom, Philipp heeft er geen gras over laten groeien. Misschien daarom ook maar even kennismaken met zijn kijk op blaufränkisch. Rijpe pruimen, dikke kersen, milde pepers, het zoet van gebrande paprika en een zuchtje speculaaskruiderij. Zwoel, rond, gevuld, rijp maar toch ook fris, koket en levendig. Wijn uit een jaar met een heerlijke herfst. Zodoende een heerlijke balans en verfijnde zuren.
