2021 Besas Gruner Veltliner

On the banks of the River Danube, the Niederösterreich region is an area perfectly suited to producing wines with the Gruner Veltliner peppery burst of acidity and flavours ranging from green apple to gala melon. Besas is a brand-new project, recently formed in 2022, and have committed themselves to producing top quality wines using fruit from sustainably farmed vineyards. The project is based in Traisental DAC, where this unique climate is perfect for the slow ripening of complex, aromatic grape varieties, such as Gruner Veltliner. Here the cold air from the Pannonian Alps meets the warm air from the Danube Valley and the Adriatic Sea, creating huge temperature swings from day to night (diurnal range) in the ripening season. This helps the grapes stay on their vines for longer without losing their characteristic acidity and allows them to develop highly concentrated flavours and aromas.

The grapes for this wine spend up to 6 hours in contact with the skins prior to fermentation, which gives the resulting wine a fleshy and pithy character. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel, which preserves the grapes’ naturally high acidity and aromatic purity. While this wine is completely unoaked, it does spend some time resting on its lees post-fermentation, which adds body and complexity. This wine is a racy, spicy and perfumed example of Austria’s best loved and most famous viticultural export – white pepper, peach flesh and ripe pear hit you right on the nose, leading to heady blossom notes of honeysuckle and jasmine. The palate is fresh and lifted with notes of lime zest, orange peel, nectarine and another helping of that characteristic white pepper spice. A zesty finish with a spicy fruit profile, this would be a cracking match for Asian foods – try with Thai-spiced prawns or ginger and soy-glazed salmon.