Breaking family traditions is extremely hard. Alwin and Stefanie Jurtschitsch know this; both second generation of established family domains (Stephanie of Gunderloch fame in the Rheinhessen), they took the reins of Jurtschitsch almost 20 years ago. All 70ha of it, with holdings in Kamptal's top sites.

They made an unheard of decision at the time: to scale down the size of the estate to focus on organic farming, elevating the overall quality of the fruit and final wines. 

On Chris' recent visit, walking the vineyards with Alwin and tasting through the full range, it was clear that their work has put them on the world’s top tier.

They're producing some of the finest dry Riesling and Grüner Veltliner from anywhere, experimenting with macerations and red bottlings, and adding to the not-so-little secret of Kamptal's crazy good sparkling wine. We get into this word class operation below. 

THE FARMING

While walking together through Kamptal’s most famous grand cru, Heiligenstein, Alwin Jurtschitsch painted a picture of Kamptal’s climate. Though it's considered a cool growing region, the area (and the site we were in) historically doesn’t struggle for ripeness, dealing with central Europe's warm Pannonian winds and a sun-soaked southern exposition.

Once a benefit, this capacity to warm has now made the site vulnerable to drought. Especially in the warmest vintages when the local Kamp river dries. 

With the challenge of keeping Kamptal’s dust-like loess soils healthy, most growers use pumped water to irrigate their vineyards. In fact, the whole of Heiligenstein is set up for irrigation (by law); but Alvin has all of their lines turned off.

A man obsessed with natural solutions (his first job was on a permaculture farm in the Amazon), his methods have a longer, more sustainable view.

He believes the real key to cooling his soils and retaining water is in creating a rich humus of top soils activated by organic matter and insect activity; planting clovers for nitrogen; and mixing in sturdy grasses that hold water.

It’s active, energetic thinking that you can feel through walking his vineyards. Leaving space for non-vineyard growth, the organic work being done here is progressive and results in healthy, energetic fruit. 

The vitality (and, singularity) of their vineyard space is so nicely summed up by the 'Quelle' bottling. They found among their Heiligenstein holdings a small plot with completely different vegetation than the rest of the vineyard (pictured above, where Alwin is standing among the reeds). Beneath the soil in this spot is an old aquifer that provides extra natural irrigation and exceptional minerality.

The fruit from this plot is phenolic, powerful – and uniquely treated in the cellar to highlight its beauty. Unfined, unfiltered, it legally cannot have the Heiligenstein designation on the label; but this is truly one of this most famous vineyard's purest representations.

THE CELLAR

The winery situated in the town of Langenlois is an ancient Franciscan winery, built deep underground. Prior to Alwin and Stefanie's arrival, the wines made here were conventional. But since ‘06, everything has been fermented with native yeast.

They vinify naturally with a mixture of vessels (foudre, tank, amphora and a touch of small barrels – its all there) for both fermentation and élevage.

Though each wine sees its own regimen, they favor using the gross lees in élevage and won't ever stop a wine from going through malolactic (in fact, they hope for it); believing that a combination of extended lees contact, malolactic fermentation and healthy acids in the juice allow for winemaking to be done without sulfur.

THE WINES

It's hard to generalize their wines as Alwin and Stefanie have started parceling out their best sites, making for a wide spectrum of wines. But, in broad strokes:

This estate combines healthy, powerful fruit with equally healthy acidity levels.

Harvesting phenolically ripe fruit with healthy acids is not easy with the challenges explained before, and it's a testament to the incredible farming here.

Each wine is different, but all of the cuvées have a base of intensely flavored fruit.

SPARKLING

Weingut Jurtschitsch Rose Sekt Brut, Austria, $37 (available for purchase pre-arrival)

2018 Weingut Jurtschitsch Grosse Reserve Brut Nature, Niederosterreich, Austria, $45 (available for purchase pre-arrival)​

GRÜNER VELTLINER & RIESLING

2023 Weingut Jurtschitsch Terrassen Grüner Veltliner, Kamptal, Austria, $18 The silty, daily drinking Grüner from Loess Soils

2019 Weingut Jurtschitsch 'Belle Naturelle' Grüner Veltliner Kamptal, Austria, $27 The one fully macerated wine in the lineup. Grüner macerated for ten days in open top red wine fermenters, free run juice racked into 600L barrels for aging.

2020 Weingut Jurtschitsch 'Quelle' Riesling Reserve, Kamptal, Austria, $72 Per the notation above, a very special wine from a single block in Heiligenstein.

GRAND CRU

2022 Weingut Jurtschitsch Loiserberg Reserve Riesling Erste Lage OTW, Kamptal, Austria, $41

2022 Weingut Jurtschitsch Lamm Reserve Grüner Veltliner Erste Lage, Kamptal, Austria, $68

2022 Weingut Jurtschitsch Ried Heiligenstein Alte Reben Reserve Riesling Erste Lage, Kamptal, Austria, $70

2021 Weingut Jurtschitsch Heiligenstein Rotfels Erste Lage Riesling, Kamptal, Austria, $90

2021 Weingut Jurtschitsch Heiligenstein Steinwand Erste Lage Riesling, Kamptal, Austria, $120

SHOP JURTSCHITSCH