Bernard Ott renders Grüner Veltliners of incredible tension and brightness.

In this regard, Ott may very well be without peer when it comes to Grüner.

Rosenberg is Ott's top wine. It's a wine that possesses a shocking brilliance, especially in the cooler 2016 vintage. Just to cut to the chase, the 2016 Rosenberg is very likely the best wine I've had from Ott after nearly a decade of tasting the wines.

The Rosenberg vineyard is home to Ott's oldest vines dating back to the 1950s. It's also the warmest of Ott's three vineyards.

In Ott's hands, the warmth doesn't exactly translate to a bigger or more powerful wine. Instead, you get a wild complexity that works on a mindboggling amount of registers. Ott feels that his biodynamic farming helps keep alcohol levels down and this allows him to increase hang time while keeping the ripeness fairly tame.

Along with Ott's bright, focused acidity (so focused that you often think of Riesling instead of Grüner), the 2016 Rosenberg covers an insane spectrum - there's a tactile stony minerality, ripe citrus, red fruits, floral perfume and Grüner's spice and vegetal notes. The aromatics are explosive and the wine has a dancing lift.

At its best, the 2016 Austrians are radiant, precise and grand. We love the vintage's shimmering minerality and silky refined textures. Even in the context of the vintage, the Rosenberg delivers in a big way.

Within Austria and elsewhere, Ott is a star. In terms of wine on the world stage, Ott almost solely put his region of Wagram on the map. The 2016 Rosenberg shows this always compelling estate at its best.

To order, reply to offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.

Joe Salamone

Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits