Domäne Wachau: producer profile

Wine tourists usually drive past cooperatives without stopping, and for good reason. Most of them operate on the principle of the lowest common denominator. Finding a home for tons of often mediocre grapes is the priority, not high-quality wine production. There are exceptions in Chablis, St-Emilion, Barbaresco – and in the town of Dürnstein in the Wachau.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for nine top Domäne Wachau wines

Originally known as the Freie Weingärtner Wachau, this cooperative’s name was changed in 2008. But by then it already had a strong reputation.

It works with 250 growers who farm 450 hectares, and the annual production is around three million bottles. It does help that the region contains some of Europe’s outstanding vineyards.

The Wachau is the most westerly region along the Danube, with most sites overlooking the river, which has a strong moderating influence. Soils vary, with ancient gneiss and other stony soil types high up, where Riesling is planted on terraced vineyards. Lower down Grüner Veltliner, the dominant variety, thrives on slightly more fertile soils.

Many of the growers farm tiny parcels, often well under a hectare, but located in exceptional sites. All told, the Domäne has substantial holdings in some of Wachau’s top sites such as Achleiten, Kellerberg, Singerriedl, and many more.

The result is a spectacular collection of single-vineyard wines, as well as more commercial offerings such as rosés from Zweigelt.

Roman Horvath, one of Austria’s few Masters of Wine, is the director, and at his side is Heinz Frischengruber, who comes from a local family of growers. Frischengruber is the cooperative’s secret weapon.

During the summer he is out in the vineyards with the growers every day to supervise the farming and, later, the harvest. He also runs seminars on treatments, organic farming, and other issues of common interest.

Together with Horvath and the growers, he decides on picking dates by tasting in each vineyard. All sorting is done among the vines, and there are no sorting tables at the winery.

Viticulture

Fermentation takes place using indigenous yeasts and also the Domäne’s own selection. Malolactic fermentation is discouraged. The single-vineyard wines are generally aged in large casks so there is no overt oak influence.

Botrytis is quite common in the region. Some producers welcome a touch of noble rot for the added complexity and weight it brings; others try to avoid it at all costs to retain a classic style. The team here is in the latter camp, so any heavily botrytised fruit is separated and used to produce sweet wines. But these are the exceptions, as the main focus is on dry white wines.

The Wachau has created a quality hierarchy based on ripeness at harvest. Steinfeder is the lowest level – fresh wines for early drinking – while Smaragd, named after a green lizard that suns itself on the dry stone walls around the vineyards, is the highest, with alcohol levels generally between 13% and 14.5%.

Steinfeder has all but disappeared, as global warming guarantees good ripeness in most recent vintages, but the Domäne remains keen on its Federspiel wines. Most of them are blends under the ‘Terrassen’ brand, and they offer good value, with varietal typicity, great freshness, and a moderate capacity to age.

Some years ago I attended the launch of the Wachau’s 2010 Smaragd vintage and asked when the wines would be consumed. ‘From tomorrow,’ I was told. There is no doubt that Austrians and Germans too like their white wines young, and their youthful vibrancy can be very enjoyable. But bottle age can bring out aromas and nuances not apparent when the wine is very young, and in a good vintage, both Riesling and Grüner Veltliner Smaragd wines can easily age for twenty years. This is entirely a matter of personal preference.

Other bottlings

Domäne Wachau also enjoys producing more experimental wines under their ‘Backstage’ category.

These include a Riesling fermented on the skins for six months in 300-litre amphorae, then aged further in neutral barrels. Müller-Thurgau ‘X’ is fermented in concrete eggs, but in my experience, it’s an austere wine with many of the limitations of this generous variety.

More interesting is ‘SteinWerk’, a Grüner Veltliner vinified in a tank made of marble. For me, the most intriguing of the Backstage wines is the Gemischter Satz or field blend. This style is common in Vienna but less so in other parts of Austria. These vines – some from varieties that are no longer planted – are close to a century old, and fermented in older tonneaux.

Nonetheless, these Backstage wines are sidelines. The focus remains, as it should be, on the often magnificent single-vineyard wines from the Wachau’s great sites.

Thanks to the domaine’s scrupulous attention to detail, especially in the vineyards, these bottlings can be every bit as fine as many pricier offerings from established estates in the region.

Stephen Brook’s top Domäne Wachau picks

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