Feiler-Artinger‏ at Annual Tasting of Austrian Wines

Feiler-Artinger were some of the first Austrian dessert wines I ever tasted and I fell in love with them immediately.

The winery is based in the pretty village of Rust, famous for its storks' nests,  on the Pannonian plain near the Hungarian border. Here, the combination of low-lying hills, the shallow lake Neusiedl and warm southerly air currents mean that conditions for botrytis are almost guaranteed every year.

With 30ha of vineyards farmed organically and bio-dynamically, Feiler-Artinger produces some of Austria's best dessert wines.

The wines were presented by Kurt Feiler at the Annual Tasting of Austrian Wines in London.

Beerenauslese Cuvee Weiss 2009 - a very warm and dry year with, unusually, only a little botrytis at the very end; the grapes were not harvested until November/December and this shows through in the weighty, ripe sweetness of the wine. There are hints of botrytis on the nose whilst the palate is peachy and marmaledey, but cut through with tropical acidity.

Ruster Ausbruch Cuvee Weiss 2008 - a year of more normal botrytis conditions, the grapes, 100% botrytised, were harvested in early November. The result is a lighter, fresher, more balanced wine with greater finesse; there is peachy fruit, some toastiness and overall it feels more complex and balanced.

Recommended Wine

The better weather conditions of 2008 make this an easy one - the Ruster Ausbruch for its lighter freshness and greater complexity.

The wines are imported into the UK by Clark Foyster Wines.

The 2009 Beerenauslese is available from Waitrose Wine Direct, priced £11.82 for 37.5cl, and from Ocado priced £12.29.

Other related articles
Feiler-Artinger at 2011 Annual Austrian Tasting

Links

Feiler-Artinger - http://www.feiler-artinger.at/
Clark Foyster - http://www.clarkfoysterwines.co.uk/
Waitrose Wine Direct - http://www.waitrosewine.com/
Ocado - http://www.ocado.com/

Image credit; Storks in Rust http://kenatimageworksphotog.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/rust-austria.html