Wine of the week: a perky Austrian white with style and panache

published 15 January 2021

2019 Zwillingslauser, Grüner Veltliner, Winzerhof Sax, Kamptal, Austria

£13.50, Stone, Vine & Sun, 01962-712351, stonevine.co.uk

Grüner veltliner is a fabulous white grape and many of us are familiar with its charms. Not long ago you could only find this cheeky grape on trips to Austria, but nowadays most supermarkets stock budget versions and it is fair to say that they rarely let you down if you are after competently made, dry, perky white wines with a little more flavour intrigue than your average sauvignon blanc or chenin blanc.

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If you climb to the top of the grüner ladder the wines are often rich and heady and, although gastronomically and intellectually challenging, they are not particularly refreshing. In between the £8 high-street offerings and Hirtzberger (my favourite estate) at around the £40-mark, there are hundreds of largely unfamiliar estates making useful wines. This week, I have found a relatively inexpensive grüner for you with a tremendous amount of character and flair.

Zwillingslauser translates as naughty twins, and twins Max and Rudolph Sax are the winemakers behind this delicious wine. Theirs has been a family business since 1660 and it’s fair to say that there is no shortage of experience here so I urge you to seek out this rewarding wine. Smooth, pure, layered and silky, the pear and apple theme is balanced perfectly by zesty acidity. It will shock you with its style and panache.

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition’s Communicator of the Year (matthewjukes.com)

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Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.

Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.

He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.

Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’. He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner.

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy. His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.