Red French Benjamin Leroux Bourgogne Rouge wine
Red French Benjamin Leroux Bourgogne Rouge 2020 wine
Benjamin Leroux, a respected winemaker in Burgundy, founded his own winery in Beaune in 2007. He sources Pinot Noir grapes from various vineyards, including Pommard, Volnay, Meursault, St-Romain, and Monthelie. The wine is aged in large oak barrels and some smaller ones.
The Benjamin Leroux Bourgogne Rouge has a vibrant ruby color with aromas of ripe berries, cherries, spices, and a touch of minerality. The taste is juicy and fruity, with medium-light body, balanced acidity, and smooth tannins. The finish is long with subtle mineral notes.
This elegant wine pairs well with dishes like coq au vin, porcini risotto, quail, and cheese and mushroom crostini. It’s recommended to open the wine about 30 minutes before serving to enhance its flavors.
White Austrian Bernhard Ott Am Berg Gruner Veltliner 2024 wine
Winemaker Bernhard Ott is known for his dedication to the traditional Austrian grape, Gruner Veltliner, grown on his family’s estate in Lower Austria. Taking over in the 1990s, Bernhard focused on biodynamic farming and innovative winemaking techniques. The grapes for his Am Berg blend come from vineyards in Engabrunn, Feuersbrunn, and Grossriedenthal, as well as carefully selected purchased grapes.
Bernhard crushes whole grape bunches and allows six hours of skin contact before fermentation in stainless steel tanks to extract delicate flavors and aromas. The wine has lively citrus and green apple notes, with hints of white pepper and herbs. It has a refreshing acidity, a light body, and a clean finish with accents of lemon and pink grapefruit.
The vineyards’ loess soils, rich in minerals and fossils, contribute to the wine’s pure and refined taste.
White Austrian Bernhard Ott Fass 4 Gruner Veltliner 2024 wine
Located in Austria’s Wagram region, the Bernhard Ott winery covers 40 hectares of vineyards primarily planted with Gruner Veltliner grapes. These grapes are known for producing complex wines that can age well. Founded in 1889, the winery is now run by Bernhard Ott, the fourth generation of his family to take the helm.
Bernhard, who became the head of the company in his early 20s, has introduced several innovations in the past 30 years, including a move towards biodynamic farming methods.
The Gruner Veltliner grapes used in the winemaking process are carefully selected from vineyards with vines that are about 45 years old, grown in loess soils in small areas near Spiegel and Rosenberg. Since 2019, grapes from the Kamptal wine region have also been included in their wines. One of their most popular offerings is the Gruner Veltliner Fass 4, which is considered a standard for the grape variety’s complexity.
This refined wine has a rich aroma profile, featuring notes of yellow apple and stone fruit, especially nectarines.
White Austrian Bernhard Ott Rosenberg Erste Lage Gruner Veltliner 2022 wine
Bernhard Ott, named Winemaker of the Year in 2008, has been at the helm of his family’s winery in Austria since the 1990s. With a history dating back to 1889, the estate covers 40 hectares in Lower Austria’s Wagram region, known for its mineral-rich loess soils. Ott has embraced biodynamic practices to cultivate his Gruner Veltliner grapes, sourced from the esteemed Rosenberg vineyard.
Planted strategically in a south-facing amphitheater layout on limestone and deep loess soils, some of the vines are over six decades old. The resulting wine is a vibrant yellow-green with a bouquet of green apple, lemon balm, lime blossom, passion fruit, and citrus. On the palate, it is lively and crisp, with a juicy concentration of citrus flavors and a mineral undertone.
The finish is long and echoes the wine’s mineral and stone fruit notes, making it an ideal match for asparagus dishes or seafood starters.