(Manfred Klimek / Pic animatied: Runwayml)
Rechnitz and Wösendorf, one place on the easternmost foothills of the Alps, the other on the southernmost edge of Austria’s Waldviertel – places that could not be more different. Yet we have to linger here a little longer, because wines are poured here as though they were arguments – no, they are!
Rechnitz – the anti-idyll
Rechnitz lies on the edge of the Republic; Hungary is a few kilometres away, and every supermarket worker commutes in from Hungary – which gives the brief checkout conversation a touch of paprika. As I leave, I say “Wisla” (an insider reference). The air is very, very cool right now, the wind moderately present. But whatever the weather, the soils are green schist, loam, inclusions, transitions. Nothing is unambiguous, nothing smoothed over. At Straka Winery this produces not only a present and distinctive style, but also a basis for experiments that cast anchor both regionally and internationally. Over the past ten years, this has given rise to Thomas Straka’s very singular signature – incidentally, I found surprisingly many singular signatures in the region around the Eisenberg.
Straka’s Furmint 2023 briefly enters the glass – and the very first sip already lingers for an astonishingly long time. Quiet, dark herbs, fine bitter notes, quince, a little apricot, hardly any pepper, the merest hint of nutmeg: tension arising from inner structure. And another reminder that this Hungarian grape also belongs in western Hungary. So why isn’t more of it being planted? “Jössas,” says Straka, “Furmint is even more susceptible to pests than Pinot Noir.”
Straka becomes even more precise (if that is possible) with the Blaufränkisch, which are consistently picked individually here:
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Blaufränkisch Green Schist: bright berry fruit, cool, almost weightless. Herbs, redcurrant, an earthiness that does not weigh it down. Very fine tannins, guided with vitality.
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Blaufränkisch Rechnitz DAC Reserve: denser, more structured, but never heavy. Cherry fruit, a mineral core, juiciness on the finish. A wine with ageing potential that will probably last longer than is generally assumed. Shoot ziz Bargain!
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Blaufränkisch Ried Rosengarten: deeper, deep, deeper: darker, spicier. Blackberry, juniper, fine-grained tannin. More serious, more concentrated, without tipping into the monumental.
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Blaufränkisch Ried Prantner: the leanest, tautest of the series. Cranberry, lingonberry, herbs, a firm backbone. A wine that sustains tension and does not resolve it.
I will write separately about Thomas Straka’s almost unique Welschrieslings in the WELT am SONNTAG.
(At the Strakas, any guest who drinks one glass too many downstairs, or is looking for somewhere to sleep at all, can spend the night one floor above in excellent, indeed top-level accommodation – as I know and am happy to recommend).
Wösendorf – the idyll
Wösendorf: terraces, walls, vineyards, a river, a proper cultural landscape. At Rudi Pichler all of this flows into the glass – for real. This is not merely a tasting; things are explained here – calmly, precisely, in detail, without pathos. Alongside Bodenstein, Pichler is the liberal intellectual of the Wachau – not as a pose, but arising from his way of thinking and a degree in economics
The soil profiles are not laid out as decoration, but as a key. Gföhler gneiss, paragneiss, amphibolitic inclusions, lime-free zones. You quickly understand: these Rieslings are not created in the cellar, but along contour lines.
The Smaragd Rieslings 2024 show this clearly:
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Terrassen: a fine introduction, white peach, a hint of schist, a logical, elegant structure. For this quality, a wine that is almost outrageously inexpensive and capable of ageing. And also a wine for the target market of the USA, where it is experiencing a small boom despite tariffs – precisely because it explains greatness well and affordably.
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Kirchweg: mineralically concentrated, with a precise pull and clear fruit. Sediments from the slope above are perceptible, requiring no explanation.
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Hochrain: tauter, more concentrated, with clear tension. Old vines, greater depth, a longer breath. It will easily stand up to 50 years in the cellar. But we will not live that long.
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Achleithen: purist, powerful, uncompromising. Gneiss, austerity, length. A Riesling that delights with fruit, yet also demands minerally and intellectually. More than German Rieslings. The same applies to Hochrain.
I will report on Rudi Pichler’s Federspiele and Grüner Veltliners in the WELT am SONNTAG report
What remains
Two places, two landscapes, two very different languages. And yet something in common: both estates dispense with simplification. They trust their wines to be read as both simple and demanding at the same time. In the book of wines, they count on attention, not effects. Austria as best as it can.