Wine Detail
# KF007
Feiler-Artinger Welschriesling Ruster Ausbruch 1999, 375 ml
from Feiler-Artinger (View all)1999 was an excellent year for sweet wines. The early botrytis was intense. Then there was perfect weather with dry winds. These dry winds shrunk the berries perfectly. Welschriesling is great for sweet wines as it shows exotic aromas, very intense fruit and a beautiful balance of sweetness and acidity on the palate. This wine has aromas of pineapple, lychee, acacia flowers and honey. Hints of almonds and biscuits. On the palate: the same notes, but the honey becomes more pungent.’ -Vintner Kurt Feiler The grapes for this wine were harvested at the end of October 1999. After a slight crushing the grapes were pressed with a pneumatic press. Fermentation was done in small 300 liter oak barrels, which did not give oak flavors to the wine like a smaller barrique would. Fermentation lasted for about 4 months, and then the wine was clarified by racking it two times within the following 4 months. It was filtered before bottling, which happened in September 2000. The acidity level is 9.3 g/l.
- 100 % - Welschriesling
| Wine Spectator | 90 - “A slight nail polish aroma kicks off this lively, caramel-flavored dessert wine, but it settles into citrus and apricot notes and remains light on its feet. Lovely finish and long aftertaste of caramel. Drink now through 2006.” |
| Wine Enthusiast | 88 - “The initial aroma is curiously farmyardy and rustic. The palate, though, is fresher, with attractive fruit flavors along with sweetness and a touch of tropical fruit. The finish is sweet but balanced by good acidity.” |
| Falstaff Wine Guide | 94 |
| IWC | n/a - “I alluded to this wine in Issue 99, but it deserves further note. Striking caramelized pit fruit and coffee-mocha aromas lead to a palate marked by great purity of fruit and deftness of botrytization; a polished, smooth texture; and a complete absence of bitterness. Mocha and peach mingle in a long finish. Potential 2 stars.” |
| A la Carte | 96 |
| Food & Wine Magazine Wine Guide | 4 - “4 out of 4 stars: Outstanding. Worth a search. Wine as if painted by Gustav Klimt, mysterious, gilded, and unforgettable.” |
| Wine & Spirits | 92 - “A baroque confection of satin, silk, peaches, quince, honey and lemons with ribbons of vanilla twisting through it, this is Welschriesling brought to little-visited heights. Though it is sweet and rich, the variety has lively acidity that keeps it fresh and as juicy as if the wine were just squeezed from the fruit. It is hard to resist now, but it surely will become more complex with time.” |
| Vinaria | 18.5 - “18.5 out of 20 points. Incredible how reductive a sweet wine can smell. Firestone, a little apple, nougat, chocolate and nuts; all just subtle but deep. A lot of everything is here kicking around in its embryonic state. It shows great onsets of minerality and density, stiff acidity and deep fruitiness. All that is only showing in its beginning, but promises greatness with patience.” |
| Beverage Testing Institute | 85 - “Deep, brilliant copper hue. Exotic raw honey and salted pecan aromas show a touch of rancio. A rich entry leads to a viscous, full-bodied palate with lots of sweetness balanced by appropriate acidity. Complex and hedonistic. Drink now or later.” |
| Int'l Wine Challenge 2002 | Silver Medal. - “A lovely rich mouthful. The floral nose gives way to ripe peach and honey on a very sweet and long palate. Plenty of botrytis adds complexity.” |
| Alcohol content | 12.0% |
|---|---|
| Bottle size (ml) | 375 ml |
| Residual Sugar | 99.9 g/l |
| Wine style | Dessert |
| Cellar potential | now to 2050 |
| Closure | Cork |
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The town of Rust is perhaps best known for its world-class late harvest wines, a specialty of which is known here as Ruster Ausbruch. The "Ruster" describes that it is from this town, and the “Ausbruch” describes the method of only picking out the most perfectly shriveled & botrysized grapes. Why are the wines from here so incredible? It might have something to do with the fact that in 1681 Rust was proclaimed a Free Town of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and this distinction came at a steep price: 10,000 liters of the Ruster Ausbruch wine had to be sent to the royalty every year. A practice for survival became the practice of something spectacular.
The Feiler-Artinger winery was established in Rust in the early 1900’s by Gustav and Karoline Feiler. After the second world war, they were the first to restart the tradition of harvesting grapes afflicted with noble rot for the production of Ausbruch. In 1955 Gustav's son Hans took the reins and steered things well, and since 1994 the third generation, in the form of Hans' eldest son Kurt, has stepped into line. Their work has not gone unnoticed; in 1999 Hans and Kurt were jointly declared “Late Harvest Wine Makers of the Year” at the Wine Challenge in London, and Robert Parker Jr. of the Wine Advocate rates the winery as among Austria's best producers (giving it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars) In fact, critics from Wine Advocate to Wine Spectator have consistently rated these wines in the 90's. The winery has 64 acres with an annual production of 12,500 cases; 30% white, 55% red, and 15% sweet.
As Hans puts it: “I strongly believe that harmony in the family brings harmony to the wines.” This must be one happy family.
The west side of the lake... The Austrian wine establishment has now begun to call this region Leithaberg, after the local hillsides themselves, although it is hard to imagine winegrowing in this region without the benificent influence of the lake. The free city of Rust has been famous for its sweet wines for centuries, now producing memorable reds and dry whites as well. The towns of St Margarethen, Donnerskirchen and Grosshöflein are all proving to be sources of excellent grapes from the varieties Blaufränkisch and St Laurent, as well as for the more surprising Sauvignon Blanc. The major municipality Eisenstadt is the capital of Burgenland; the area has been settled since the early Iron Age, and evidence of viticulture exists in Celtic hill burials from nearly three thousand years ago.
