Wine Diary
Vintage 2020 – favouring the bold!
At the beginning of November, a long-lasting harvest 2020 has found its happy ending! If one would have to headline our experiences with the whole (wine)year 2020 in one word, “Suspense” might be the accurate term, as to us it was an incredibly thrilling and labour-intensive one: a rather dry and warm Winter was followed by Spring virtually without precipitation and with strong temperature fluctuations delaying bud break. These circumstances proved to be lucky, as it prevented us from considerably early frost damage.
Only in the middle of May did we receive noteworthy amounts of rain, which allowed the plants to quickly recover and catch up with flowering compared to the long-term average. Summer was moderately warm and rather humid; vines and grapes were growing well, while ripening was proceeding rather slowly.
Our team in the vineyards was constantly challenged by high humidity and the thriving vegetation.
A perfect foliage and soil management until the start of harvest in mid-September have now proved to be the fundamentals for another good vintage! We also were lucky to be largely spared by hail more than once!
The course of the harvest with several cold and damp rain breaks and also many windy, warm, bright and sunny picking days balanced by cool aroma enhancing nights, demanded flexibility and the greatest concentration. It was a long way from the first Verjus-grapes to the last containers of Grüner from smaller patches of old Langenloiser vineyards, and the Covid regulations did not make things easier!
“It was indeed a challenge,” cellar master Christopher’s words resonate with us all, even more so, when he adds with a smile, “however, in the cellar it looks great, as if this vintage does favour the bold!”
The lighter wines such as our extremely popular Zweigelt Rosé have finished fermentation without problems. They show freshness, fragrant floral & citrus aromas and a fine clarity and length. Also, our single vineyard wines are well on the way, though it is still too early to make a sensible judgement there. Everything looks great at Bründlmayer!
A huge “thank you” to our entire team, in the vineyard and all around in the cellar (including the office, logistics and filling station)!
For weeks we have only rarely seen Christoph and Christopher as relaxed as this. They have every reason to be happy: Vintage 2020 is in! Vineyard & cellar have all interacted perfectly during this challenging and long harvest. (Photo: Anna Stöcher)