Weingut Bründlmayer

It is not easy to sum up the dramatic vintage 2014 in just a few words: a warm winter, a dry spring, lots of rain in May and even more during the summer, some hail – though this time it missed our vineyards, a perfect blossoming leading to advanced vegetation, then followed a hot June, before it got cool and stayed wet until far into September.

Throughout these days we had to watch carefully and ceaselessly over the health of the soils, plants and fruit. It was not enough to just do your work in the vineyards as usual. The precise moment, where, how and when each step was done proved to be crucial. The slightest negligence, for instance, in soil management or foliage protection would have been punished immediately. Moreover, “you could do a lot of things wrong this year,” and even having made all the right decisions, you had to be lucky. Because we had done most of the things right and because we were fortunate, we could finally profit from the cooler climate and the drier soils on the Langenlois hillsides giving rot fewer opportunities.

Last not least it was “Bründlmayer Brut” that from the outset provided us with an immense advantage. All the early thin skinned grapes, then by far not ripe enough for still wines, underwent a careful selection before they found themselves in the cellar transformed into wonderful sparkling base wines. The few Zweigelt, Chardonnay and Pinot grapes that had been allowed to still hang out loose at a lofty height nevertheless needed selection and a dance over the sorting belt. 

Conclusion: best Brut, delicate, spotlessly clean white, rosé and red wines and also some slender, elegant, structured reserves have been expected. No year for “hulks” – though those who did everything right may declare a year of highest drinking pleasure. This vintage has cost power, time and money. Today we are confident that Bründlmayer 2014 will prove worthy of its name!