St. Laurent is the indigenous Austrian red wine grape for intellectuals. A small group of specialist Austrian winemakers have formed a “think tank” to share knowledge and experience with this rare variety explore ways to better communicate the identity of this unique regional star.
The chalky gravel of the Thermenregion offers ideal preconditions for St. Laurent.
The fragrance of Bing cherry, bergamot, and juniper exudes from the deep, nearly opaque ruby red wine in my glass. Bewitching, appetizing, but certainly not the glass of Pinot Noir that I had requested. The sommelier had his hand over the label as he quickly poured and scurried off before I could make any reclamation. I was able to nab that elusive sommelier and get him to show me the bottle. He was rather ashamed and explained, “St. Laurent is almost the same as Pinot Noir.” Is it really? And must one be ashamed that St. Laurent isn’t
Single-vineyard wines from Brigitte and Gerhard Pittnauer
Pinot Noir? I would have liked to have seen more pride in this variety at this award-winning Viennese restaurant at the Prater. Out of solidarity to St. Laurent, I did not exchange it for the Pinot Noir. It was delicious.
St. Laurent is a very rare grape variety that while cultivated in every wine-growing are of Austria, is nowhere the predominant grape. Vintner Gerhard Pittnauer from Gols on the east side of Lake Neusiedl says, “There are a few specialist producers scattered throughout the country that are passionately dedicated to the variety and have a long track record of producing high qualities. This high quality and the variation in styles appear to be a question not only of terroir, but of the vintner’s desire to express this. I think that the most important requirements for a good St. Laurent are talent, idealism, and passion.” The number of passionate and talented red wine vintners in Austria is growing and the vineyard area of St. Laurent has doubled since 1999.
A fussy diva
Hannes Reinisch and his two brothers cultivate quite a respectable share of the total vineyard area of St. Laurent in the Thermenregion at their Johannishof estate. He explains, “St. Laurent is very demanding. It is very sensitive during flowering and susceptible to millerandage. It ripens early and is susceptible to sunburn and botrytis. In addition to this the correct soil and the age of the vines play a significant role if you aspire to make a truly great wine.” A few of the vintners report that the variety is also prone to faults caused by volatile acids and brettanomyces. But just as a fussy diva can become the darling of a leading film director, so it is that a few talented vintners have endured the trials and tribulations on their way to discovering the passion and joy of exquisite St. Laurent. Hannes Reinisch says, “St. Laurent is one of the most fascinating and 
valuable red wine varieties because it is capable of uniting the power and spice that one would expect of Rhône with the elegance and delicacy of Burgundy. These attributes in combination with the climatic and geological preconditions in Austria result in unique, elegant and inimitable wines that demonstrate all the virtues of the variety and terroir.”
And just like a diva, St. Laurent has a rather obscure history that is woven with myths and rumours. Its name has been changed several times, possibly to give it a little more international flair. A relationship to Pinot Noir has always been suspected due to great morphological similarities. Despite this resemblance we have known for quite some time that St. Laurent possesses certain anthocyanins (responsible for colour in red wine) that are not present in the Pinot family.
Genealogy
The famous ampelographs Viala and Vermorel called this variety “Pinot St. Laurent” in their comprehensive work “Traité Général de Viticulture” (1901) and named Alsace as its likely origin. They report how the variety was exported from there to Germany where it was further spread. St. Laurent continues to be found predominantly in German-speaking Europe with just under 700 ha in Germany and 800 ha in Austria.
Despite the modern possibilities of genetic sequencing, the ancestry of St. Laurent remains unclear. Dr. Ferdinand Regner from the Federal Office and College of Wine and Horticulture Klosterneuburg explains, “An origin stemming from a Pinot crossing appears logical and explains the similarities to Pinot Noir. Despite that we find no traces of the other parent. There are genetic attributes that we have not yet found in another grape variety. If the second parent still exists, it would be easy to identify because it has left very clear traces in St. Laurent.”
A passionate history
Pepi Umathum, specializing St. Laurent clones
The Klosterneuburg Monastery plays a significant historic role in the cultivation of St. Laurent. “St. Laurenz-Traube” was planted in the experimental vineyards of the monastery when it founded the world’s first viticultural school in 1863. August Wilhelm Freiherr von Babo initiated the cultivation and propagation of this variety. The most vigorous clones were then planted in the monastery’s Jungherrn vineyard in Kahlenbergerdorf in Vienna in 1893. Continued clone selection and research is practiced today by the vintner Pepi Umathum in his Frauenkirchen vineyards near Lake Neusiedl in cooperation with the research team at Klosterneuburg. Umathum places great value on genetic diversification and the ability of vines to adapt to their environment. He says, “Sankt Laurent is the desire for something new, something different in wine, a desire that leads us back to the familiar flavours of history.”
Unique terroir
Georg Schneider and his father in their estate vineyard in Tattendorf.
Experience and observation of the variety led to prolific planting of the variety in the meagre limestone gravel of Tattendorf in 1956. The initial 5 ha of St. Laurent grew to 40 making the “Stiftsbreite” vineyard the largest contingent vineyard area planted to the variety. “The reasons for the growing vineyard area of St. Laurent in the Thermenregion are well-founded,” says vintner Georg Schneider and continues, “The dry, alluvial limestone soils of our region are perfect for the variety. The exchange of warm Pannonian climate influence from the east with the cool wind from the Viennese forest to the north provide optimal aeration after precipitation. Decisive for the unique Tattendorf character is the long ripening period in autumn when great diurnal temperature variations are experienced. St. Laurent is a variety that does not stand out with muscle and power, but with finesse, elegance, and balance.”
Stift Klosterneuburg is not only the source of many St. Laurent vines planted throughout the country, the monastery has also once again become a role model for high-quality St. Laurent wines. Dr. Wolfgang Hamm, managing director the Stift Klosterneuburg Winery declares, “I love St. Laurent because it demands our ultimate sensitivity and is capable of rewarding us with transcendental harmony.” He grounds the extraordinary quality of the St. Laurent Grosse Reserve in the rigorous selection of fruit and restriction to production in only the best red wine vintages. He expounds further, “only free run juice from fruit sourced from old vine is used for this wine. It spends four weeks on the skins, is fermented in open vats and manual punch-down of the cap is practiced. The Grosse Reserve matures for 24 months in mostly new small oak barrels.” This wine has thus far only been produced in 2000, 2003, 2006, and 2009. The superb 2011 vintage could likely bring the next.
Timeless classic or avant-garde?
Geog Stiegelmar of the Juris Estate in Gols set the standards for high-quality St. Laurent more than two decades ago when only few Austrian vintners were producing red wines of international repute. He was the first to practice malolactic fermentation in small oak barrels with the variety. The Juris St. Laurent from 1983 is elegant proof of the greatness and longevity of St. Laurent. The vintner also created the outstanding St.
Juris have produced high-quality St. Laurent for 30 years and demonstrate the varietiy's ability to age gracefully.
Georg, a blend of St. Laurent with Pinot Noir. This continues to be one of the few Austrian blends made predominantly from St. Laurent. Georg’s son Axel and his wife Herta took over the family estate in 1995 and have further developed the cultivation of St. Laurent. “This extremely difficult and fussy variety demands absolute dedication in the vineyard. To achieve truly fine, ripe tannins, we cut away half of each bunch shortly after flowering. The Goldberg vineyard in Gols has a northeast aspect and cool, dry gravel and sand soils which yield small berried St. Laurent grapes with thick skins.”
While Juris has long been established as a classic producer of St. Laurent, Brigitte and Gerhard Pittnauer, also in Gols, are considered to lead the avant-garde. Their passion for St. Laurent takes up 35% of their estate vineyard area. They have established a terroir study of this variety and produce three single vineyard examples. The Mediterranean fragrances of the Rosenberg make it reminiscent of the northern Rhône. The Altenberg has a cooler, more Pinot-like character with silky texture and wild forest berry aroma as well as a long mineral spine. The top St. Laurent is sourced from old vines that were planted in 1965. To further enhance the uniqueness of their wines, the Pittnauers practice certified organic viticulture and spontaneous fermentation. They prefer larger and less new oak, even for their top wines.
Sensuality and depth
Hannes Schuster, minimalist perfection
One also finds several dedicated vintners on the west side of Lake Neusiedl in the hills of Rust and on the slopes of the Leitha Mountains. Calcareous soils and slopes that are exposed to the warmth of the sun and cool evening breezes are the preferred locations for the fussy St. Laurent vines. Hannes Schuster vinifies his wines in multiple mini charges to allow each plot its own ideal development. “I am convinced if you allow St. Laurent to do so, it possesses the ability to transport soil and origin,” says Schuster who is certainly is not a man to blow his own horn. He doesn’t need to. His St. Laurent speaks loud and clearly for the extraordinary potential of the Zagersdorf terroir and his ability to make truly classy wines. This wine was recently awarded the best rating possible by wein.pur magazine. His St. Laurent wines are uncompromisingly mineral and express discreet sensuality and depth of character.
Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch have always played a much more prolific role in Austrian red wine cultivation. Perhaps that is why St. Laurent has been spared the trends and fashions that those varieties have gone through over the last two decades. It has always been quite an authentic regional representative. There have always been excellent examples father north in Lower Austria in areas that are more famed for their Grüner Veltliner. One such example is Schloss Gobelsburg who has recently been awarded as Falstaff champion for the variety. Winemaker Michael Moosbrugger likes to describe St. Laurent to the uninitiated as “the Austrian answer to Syrah – spicy and pepper in aroma, but paired with the elegance and finesse of its mother vine Pinot Noir.”
Due to its high demands in the vineyard and its fussiness in the cellar, the production of truly great St. Laurent is never an accident, but a question of ambition and patience. Another highly recommendable producer in Lower Austria’s Carnuntum region, Philipp Grassl says, “Making St. Laurent is always thrilling. Decisive is to harvest the fragile, assumedly early-ripening grape very late. Only then does St. Laurent achieve depth and stature with balanced freshness.” The St. Laurent Think Tank meets regularly to discuss the secrets of this variety and share ways of how to make it even better.
Anna spreads the picnic blanket over the vetch, clover and wild grass growing in the rows between the vines. It is a sunny late summer day in the Kamptal and we have a huge ice bucket full of wines to taste. I help arrange our spread of cheese, organic sausage, salads and fruit. Before her mother can stop her, little Marie quickly pops a grape in her mouth and squeals with delight.
My eyes glide over the rolling vineyard hills and mountains as Anna names them for me: Gaisberg, Ofenberg, Heiligenstein. Behind those vineyard mountains is the Kamp River which lends its name to this appellation, and on the other side of the river, yet more vineyard mountains: Seeberg, Hasel, Käferberg, and Schenkenbichl. 4,000 hectares of vineyards – those are just a few of the familiar vineyard names that one sees on the labels of Kamptal wines. “The actual boundaries of the Kamptal appellation are judicial; it comprises the legal district of Langenlois. Kamptal borders the other Danube area appellations. Kremstal is to the west, Traisental south, and to the east we have the Wagram.”
Anna takes a long cool bottle out of the ice bucket and pours each of us a taste of the Arndorfer Riesling. Marie continues to munch on grapes as her mother and I chat. “I grew up on a winery. My sisters and I were always following my mother and father around in the vineyards, the cellar, the office, the kitchen. There were always a lot of happy people around drinking wine, eating good food and enjoying the peaceful countryside. It’s a nice life and one I would like to share with my children, too.” Anna married the talented young vintner Martin Arndorfer, and moved a few kilometres from her family’s Steininger winery in Langenlois to the Arndorfer winery in Strass. The Riesling Anna has poured for me bears the “Kamptal DAC” origin. It is pale green-yellow and has pronounced aromas and flavours of white vineyard peach and apricot that are highlighted by racy, citrusy acid and cool minerals reminiscent of a mountain stream pebbles linger on the finish.
“Kamptal DAC” and “Kamptal DAC Reserve” were established in 2008 as controlled labels of geographic origin. Like AOC in France or DOC/DOCG in Italy, Austria’s DAC always follows the name of the appellation. The Kamptal DAC and the Kamptal DAC Reserve are always single-varietal wines from either Riesling or Grüner Veltliner. To pass the strict tasting inspections the wines must exhibit pure and clearly defined varietal character. No new oak or botrytis notes are allowed for the Kamptal DAC, but a hint of both are allowed for the more powerful, full-bodied Kamptal DAC Reserve.
Heiligenstein, one of the Grand Cru or "Erste Lage" for Austrian Riesling (c) Himmel, AWMB
“Grüner Veltliner and Riesling have been established as the most important grape varieties in Kamptal for generations. They quite simply find an ideal terroir here and make up more than half of the Kamptal vineyard area.” The Heiligenstein is one of the appellation’s most famous sites. Directly translated, Heiligenstein means “holy stone”, but its historic name was Höllenstein, probably because the meagre sandstone with volcanic components dating back to the Palaeozoic era 270 million years ago, can get as “hot as hell” in summer. Luckily large forested areas and open exposure to cool air masses coming from the north ensure large diurnal temperature differences. The Heiligenstein vineyard is particularly favoured for Riesling and some of Austria’s very best examples come from this site.
As you travel further south and closer to the Danube River, the soils change. Loess and loam terraces provide ideal conditions for Grüner Veltliner. Marie is now sitting comfortably on my lap as Anna pours me a glass of Grüner Veltliner Kamptal DAC Reserve. It is pale medium yellow, full-bodied and generous, but with firm acid structure. Exotic fruit reminiscent of mango and grapefruit mingle with pepper, celery and even a hint of lentils. The Kamptal DAC Grüner Veltliner is generous and full-bodied, but with good acid structure and plenty of peppery spice.
This logo is found on bottles of Grüner Veltliner and Riesling from sites that are classified as "Erste Lage" - the very best vineyards of the Danube wine regions.
In 1992 the Association of Traditional Wineries Austria was founded with the ambitious goal of achieving a vineyard classification in the Danube area. The creation of region of origin labelling in the form of DACs was the foundation for the further development of aprime single vineyard concept. It was a historical moment for the association when after 20 years of research and discussion, the members presented 52 vineyards which were classified as ‘Erste Lage’ (grand cru). This is the beginning of a classification process that is expected to last for at least another 20 to 30 years.
“Certainly Riesling and Grüner Veltliner are our flagship wines in Kamptal, but we have other varieties and specialties, too. You can find several other varieties like Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc and there are a couple vineyards that are predestined for early-ripening red wine varieties like Zweigelt, St. Laurent and Pinot Noir. My family, the Steiningers have specialized in the production of sparkling wines and Bründlmayer and Schloss Gobelsburg also make superb alternatives to Champagne.” Not only does the Kamptal offer much diversity, 10% of Austria’s vineyard area is now organically cultivated and two of Austria’s leading vintners and champions of the organic movement are located in Kamptal: Fred Loimer and Hannes Hirsch.
Many of the Kamptal wineries, like the historic cultural gem Schloss Gobelsburg, welcome visitors by appointment on weekdays.
Wine culture and tourism play an important role in the Kamptal region. Langenlois is the largest community and has a superb tourist information office called Ursin Haus that has bicycle rental and will help you find accommodations. The Ursin Haus also serves as a regional wine shop where you can taste wines from all over the region before you purchase and also attend seminars and events. Restaurant Schwillinsky has the best wine list in the appellation and is located in the picturesque heart of Langenlois. Weinkontraste is another recommendable regional wine shop in Strass that is very generous with information and tourism assistance in the region.
The innovative little winery that Anna grew up on has grown to a sizeable venture for Austria at 30 hectares. The Steiningers also initiated quite an exciting wine experience centre that has become a major attraction for the region. The Loisium is a futuristic architectural monument to wine designed by the New York architect Steven Holl. Visitors begin with a walk through the vineyard and are led through a 1 km long network of wine experiences. The cellar of the Steininger winery is integrated in the facility and one follows in the steps of the winemaker as he guides the grapes from the vineyard to the bottle. The Loisium now includes a designer hotel and restaurant called the Vineyard, which has a very good selection of regional wines by the bottle and by the glass.
“Producing wine is a wonderful lifestyle,” exclaims Anna. “It is for me and I think for most of the vintners here in Kamptal. Every village has a couple of winery-operated taverns where you can experience the typical country ‘Gemütlichkeit’ of the Kamptal. These are the places that locals go and they have the function and atmosphere of our second living rooms.”