Wine Blogging Wednesday #28 Festive Sparklers: Schloss Gobelsburg Brut Reserve NV, Kamtal, Austria

It's that time of the month again, and this one's extra festive. The Culinary Fool offers up the Wine Blogging Wednesday theme of a non-French sparkler to taste and critique. As usual, I want to find something lovely, unique, and most of all, one that Alder doesn't write about first! Austria isn't really that well known for its sparklers, but the wines of Schloss Gobelsburg in the last ten years have improved immensely, due to the watchful eye of Willi Bründelmayer and the manager cum winemaker, Michael Moosbrugger. Michael was named one of the top 100 winemakers of 2006 from Wine & Spirits Magazine, my favorite and most trusted paper-based wine journal.

The house (castle) of Schloss Gobelsburg has been involved with winemaking since the 11th century in the Kamptal region of Austria, about 50 km from the Czech border. As one might expect from Austria, the grapes used are not your usual French knockoff varieties, but rather Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Grüner Veltlnier. After harvest, the grapes are pressed and given six months cask storage before the second fermentation in the bottle on the yeast. It's the years on the yeast that make the creamy texture before the wine is disgorged.

Tasting Notes:

This is both an exotic wine and a familiar wine all at the same time. In some ways, it is distinctly New World, like the top-of-the-line sparklers from the California houses of S. Anderson, or Iron Horse, but the exotic nose of cloves and kefir lime point to something with a completely different pedigree. It's surprisingly bready and has an austere head, not overly creamy.

This is a special treat and costs roughly the same as a bottle of White Star. I'll definitely be heading off the Wine House for more. Thanks again to the Culinary Fool for hosting!