Simon, Laws, laws, and damn the statistics! I find it interesting that in the analyses you showcase, pH is not there, which seems surprising to me. All the other numbers 'look fine'. So, I am not a fan, from a critical or winemaking POV, of VA, brett, oxidation etc, unless the wine is purposely made in a manner that is oxidative like sherry or madeira etc. Mousiness? Definitely not acceptable, but that does not seem to be the criticism here. So, it sounds more like the Board objects to its appearance, and made up the rest? Cloudiness could be a legitimate problem if other things were here, too, such as MLF in bottle (not likely in a red wine). I cannot believe that our friend Stuart P would not pick up on VA, Oxidation etc if in fact those issues were present. Brett? Well, one forgives a little bit if the wine is of a certain style, and Blaufr. can be one of those, so long as it hasn't taken over. The numbers certainly otherwise suggest a sound wine (pH would be a critical factor here from a detective's point of view!) If the wine were as faulty as the critique by the Board suggests, I am sure that Mr Velich, whom I met years ago in Austria, would be honest enough to not release the wine, or attempt to address the issues. Kinda crazy situation. I understand the desire of the AUstrian wine board to not allow clearly defective wines to gain an Appellation status, but I also abhor the notion of enforcing rules/concepts that only want to permit a çookie-cutter'approach to winemaking. Clearly, something is wrong with the system which seems so rigid that it cannot distinguish between interesting wine vs truly defective wine. Joel Butler MW
I've been sitting on the sidelines, like many small Austrian producers, patiently waiting for the big names to address this issue and it looks like the time has come.
Austrian growers have a huge advantage in at least being able to submit the same wine again and again. German growers officially have three chances but in effect only two because if a wine fails a third time it can't even be marketed as Landwein.
Simon didn't have space to get into this, but Roland Velich has already previously had to resort to creative labeling and "Wein aus Österreich" classification, namely with Grüner Veltliner from Sankt Georgen.
Thankfully, a significant number of prominent "establishment" Austrian winegrowers are also now lobbying (let's see to what effect) for a more expansive approach to qualification for Austria's "Banderole." I've done my small part in lobbying (and lobbing ;- ) via my column (since 2006) in the journal Vinaria (which is ironic if you've read Simon's report closely ;- ). The seminar Simon sat in on at the VieVinum was organized by, in addition to Velich, Andreas Wickhof of Bründlmayer and Armin Tement, who runs South Styria's most renowned estate.
France, of course, has been going through this since at least the 1980s when Ostertag ran into problems with his A360P Pinot Gris. I believe Cotat had some problems with Sancerre, too. The solution is to go back to the original purpose of the AOC law — guarantee of origin of the wine and no illegal additives. There’s enough press coverage these days to weed out defective wines. France has unfortunately not recognized the problem, and so the AOC/AOP designation is losing its authority, e.g. Ch. Lafleur’s opting out of the Pomerol appellation.
I agree, appellations should concern themselves with provenance and not with style. But sadly we are now a million miles away from this idea, every European wine country is grappling with the same issue.
For what it's worth, I think the situation in France is less pernicious, because in many regions only a proportion of appellation wines are subjected to an organoleptic test - to satisfy the EU's 5% rule.
The strictest countries seem to be Portugal and Austria, although Slovenia now appears to be doubling down on its natural winemakers too.
Not related to law, but last weekend i found in a restaurant a 2012 Moric Necken Markt Alte Reben and it was outstanding. Unfortunately it was the last bottle in stock
Thanks for the well put together article! As an Austrian and fan of low-intervention/natural wine, I've been following this issue for a while now. Especially concerning Blaufränkisch from the Mittelburgenland region, where this problem is at its most severe. Take Weninger’s wines for example. He makes a wide selection of Blaufränkisch wines that come from the Burgenland’s three major soil types (loam/clay, limestone and schist). I have tasted all of them and they are terroir driven wines, perfectly representing the soil they originate from. But of course, a Prüfnummer has seemingly more to do with the tasters preferred wine style and not authenticity. Concerning Velichs wines, I tasted most at VieVinum. None of them showed these supposed faults. The claim of oxidisation is especially mind-boggling. I also talked with Velich's compatriot Hannes Schuster from Weingut Rosi Schuster at the VieVinum about these problems. Another real issue with this application process is the fact that oftentimes the reasons for rejection are so unspecific that you won't even know what you supposedly did wrong in first place. The most absurd fact though about the Prüfnummern-System is that you can essentially apply for infinite tastings until you eventually get a passing mark. When tasting the 2022 Ried Sernauberg Sauvignon Blanc from Weingut Tement, one of the employees there told me that they had to apply 10 times until they passed and Tement's wine are not what one would call "natural wine". Even long-established wine makers in a "classic" region like the Wachau are running into problems with the Prüfnummern because they are trying to further develop their wine style. Based on my experiences with the Austrian bureaucratic system, I sadly think that the new wine law won't solve this issue or only introduce a non-solution that will not help anyone.
Of course I agree with you on all these points. What is also worth noting is that every time a winery wants to resubmit a wine, that comes with a fee of around €70 - 80. The wine you mention isn't the most extreme case. Their Zierregg Kår 2022 (coincidentally scored 98 points on RobertParker.com) had to be submitted 14 times before they got a prüfnummer.
So in the case of Tement, it sometimes costs them a four figure sum to get the wine labelled with the DAC.
And those two are definitely not the only wines of theirs that had to go through multiple rounds of tasting panels. With Tements large portfolio, this process could easily reach absurd costs, just to be able to state a wines heritage. ORF Burgenland also reported on the matter of Velichs case yesterday. There they quoted Rudolf Dorner, director at the federal office for wine making in Eisenstadt, saying that the wine might have changed it's characteristics (in relation to what Pigott tasted) due it being unfiltered. I laughed out loud when reading this, they are acting like Velich makes some unstable swill!
Simon, Laws, laws, and damn the statistics! I find it interesting that in the analyses you showcase, pH is not there, which seems surprising to me. All the other numbers 'look fine'. So, I am not a fan, from a critical or winemaking POV, of VA, brett, oxidation etc, unless the wine is purposely made in a manner that is oxidative like sherry or madeira etc. Mousiness? Definitely not acceptable, but that does not seem to be the criticism here. So, it sounds more like the Board objects to its appearance, and made up the rest? Cloudiness could be a legitimate problem if other things were here, too, such as MLF in bottle (not likely in a red wine). I cannot believe that our friend Stuart P would not pick up on VA, Oxidation etc if in fact those issues were present. Brett? Well, one forgives a little bit if the wine is of a certain style, and Blaufr. can be one of those, so long as it hasn't taken over. The numbers certainly otherwise suggest a sound wine (pH would be a critical factor here from a detective's point of view!) If the wine were as faulty as the critique by the Board suggests, I am sure that Mr Velich, whom I met years ago in Austria, would be honest enough to not release the wine, or attempt to address the issues. Kinda crazy situation. I understand the desire of the AUstrian wine board to not allow clearly defective wines to gain an Appellation status, but I also abhor the notion of enforcing rules/concepts that only want to permit a çookie-cutter'approach to winemaking. Clearly, something is wrong with the system which seems so rigid that it cannot distinguish between interesting wine vs truly defective wine. Joel Butler MW
Yes, the problem is the "sensoric" tasting, which is unconnected with the lab analysis.
I have spoken, off the record, with one of the tasters, and I think it is the entire format of the tasting panel that is at fault.
It encourages tasters to reward "sameness", and to penalise individuality or uniqueness.
I've been sitting on the sidelines, like many small Austrian producers, patiently waiting for the big names to address this issue and it looks like the time has come.
Yes, I think it's important when someone like Roland puts his weight behind the issue.
Superb writing. Very informative and enlightening. Thank you.
Thank you so much for reading!
Austrian growers have a huge advantage in at least being able to submit the same wine again and again. German growers officially have three chances but in effect only two because if a wine fails a third time it can't even be marketed as Landwein.
Simon didn't have space to get into this, but Roland Velich has already previously had to resort to creative labeling and "Wein aus Österreich" classification, namely with Grüner Veltliner from Sankt Georgen.
Thankfully, a significant number of prominent "establishment" Austrian winegrowers are also now lobbying (let's see to what effect) for a more expansive approach to qualification for Austria's "Banderole." I've done my small part in lobbying (and lobbing ;- ) via my column (since 2006) in the journal Vinaria (which is ironic if you've read Simon's report closely ;- ). The seminar Simon sat in on at the VieVinum was organized by, in addition to Velich, Andreas Wickhof of Bründlmayer and Armin Tement, who runs South Styria's most renowned estate.
Fascinating turn of events.
France, of course, has been going through this since at least the 1980s when Ostertag ran into problems with his A360P Pinot Gris. I believe Cotat had some problems with Sancerre, too. The solution is to go back to the original purpose of the AOC law — guarantee of origin of the wine and no illegal additives. There’s enough press coverage these days to weed out defective wines. France has unfortunately not recognized the problem, and so the AOC/AOP designation is losing its authority, e.g. Ch. Lafleur’s opting out of the Pomerol appellation.
I agree, appellations should concern themselves with provenance and not with style. But sadly we are now a million miles away from this idea, every European wine country is grappling with the same issue.
For what it's worth, I think the situation in France is less pernicious, because in many regions only a proportion of appellation wines are subjected to an organoleptic test - to satisfy the EU's 5% rule.
The strictest countries seem to be Portugal and Austria, although Slovenia now appears to be doubling down on its natural winemakers too.
Very interesting read. Got to love a scandal, whether contrived or legitimate, to shake up the day-to-day discussion!
Roland definitely likes to shake things up. But I think it is justified in this case.
It certainly sounds like it was!
Not related to law, but last weekend i found in a restaurant a 2012 Moric Necken Markt Alte Reben and it was outstanding. Unfortunately it was the last bottle in stock
Sounds like a real treat!
Thanks for the well put together article! As an Austrian and fan of low-intervention/natural wine, I've been following this issue for a while now. Especially concerning Blaufränkisch from the Mittelburgenland region, where this problem is at its most severe. Take Weninger’s wines for example. He makes a wide selection of Blaufränkisch wines that come from the Burgenland’s three major soil types (loam/clay, limestone and schist). I have tasted all of them and they are terroir driven wines, perfectly representing the soil they originate from. But of course, a Prüfnummer has seemingly more to do with the tasters preferred wine style and not authenticity. Concerning Velichs wines, I tasted most at VieVinum. None of them showed these supposed faults. The claim of oxidisation is especially mind-boggling. I also talked with Velich's compatriot Hannes Schuster from Weingut Rosi Schuster at the VieVinum about these problems. Another real issue with this application process is the fact that oftentimes the reasons for rejection are so unspecific that you won't even know what you supposedly did wrong in first place. The most absurd fact though about the Prüfnummern-System is that you can essentially apply for infinite tastings until you eventually get a passing mark. When tasting the 2022 Ried Sernauberg Sauvignon Blanc from Weingut Tement, one of the employees there told me that they had to apply 10 times until they passed and Tement's wine are not what one would call "natural wine". Even long-established wine makers in a "classic" region like the Wachau are running into problems with the Prüfnummern because they are trying to further develop their wine style. Based on my experiences with the Austrian bureaucratic system, I sadly think that the new wine law won't solve this issue or only introduce a non-solution that will not help anyone.
Of course I agree with you on all these points. What is also worth noting is that every time a winery wants to resubmit a wine, that comes with a fee of around €70 - 80. The wine you mention isn't the most extreme case. Their Zierregg Kår 2022 (coincidentally scored 98 points on RobertParker.com) had to be submitted 14 times before they got a prüfnummer.
So in the case of Tement, it sometimes costs them a four figure sum to get the wine labelled with the DAC.
And those two are definitely not the only wines of theirs that had to go through multiple rounds of tasting panels. With Tements large portfolio, this process could easily reach absurd costs, just to be able to state a wines heritage. ORF Burgenland also reported on the matter of Velichs case yesterday. There they quoted Rudolf Dorner, director at the federal office for wine making in Eisenstadt, saying that the wine might have changed it's characteristics (in relation to what Pigott tasted) due it being unfiltered. I laughed out loud when reading this, they are acting like Velich makes some unstable swill!
Yes I read that piece. It confirms what I implied in the article, that the Vinaria piece was a complete load of codswallop.