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Artisan, Chardonnay, Ried Kaiserberg, 2021

A single vineyard, barrel-fermented Chardonnay that easily rivals Cote d'Or Burgundy at the same price. The Kaiserberg is no mountain - it's a gentle hill in front of the old Schloss in Halbturn. This has two years in 500l. French oak, 25% new; and it smells of smart, clean oak, toasty and refined. Really fat and concentrated, green-fruited and altogether well-constructed and impressive. A tiny hint of sweetness on the finish is the only indication of the hot summers here.

Franz Schneider worked as an aeronautical engineer before taking over his family’s tiny (just 7 hectares) vineyard holding dispersed around Halbturn in Burgenland at the far eastern edge of Austria, south-east of Vienna and just a few kilometres from Hungary. The Romans brought vines to this eastern border of their Empire, based on Carnuntum. In the Pannonian climate zone, red grapes benefit from lovely sunny conditions, but the local meso-climate is affected by proximity to the Neusiedlersee, a huge shallow lake, so the summer heat is moderated by the expanse of water.

We are not huge fans of the name – but one can understand why Franz came up with it. As he says, “we are a family winery working just 7 hectares. No employees throughout the year so a real artisanal approach”. Although Franz’s wines are rooted in tradition, with fermentation in open vats and ageing in a mix of barrel sizes and ages, his scientific training leads him to work with empiricism and precision.