Description
Johann Bäuerl, Riesling Federspiel
When it comes to pure, authentic Riesling for a song, you can generally count us in. But if it’s from Johann Bäuerl, an Austrian winemaking genius with leather for hands from years of vineyard work, you can count us in every single time. The overarching problem, however, is that these labels are largely reserved for Wachau locals and European establishments, with negligible quantities finding their way to America.
Don’t bother tapping into Google either—there’s hardly anything to be found, and Johann’s obscure website is a single page that lists his humble lineup of wines, an address, and a sentence that translates into “Dear friends, we try to be there for you even in Covid-19 times.” We sometimes joke the simpler the website, the better the wine, and that certainly seems to be the case here. Johann has no time, or interest, in the commercial side of the wine industry: His entire life is handcrafting wines with breathtaking authenticity, energy, and refreshment. If you want pure, wholeheartedly genuine Wachau Riesling (think dry, mineral, exotic, buoyant) with no exposure in America, this is one to go all-in on!
If you haven’t yet heard the story of our importing friend’s first encounter with Johann Bäuerl, here it is, recounted in colorful detail:
“So there I was, walking parallel to the Danube. Couldn’t have been more lost. Part of me was beginning to think this place didn’t exist. My map app was kaput and I didn’t know whether to be looking for a grandiose winery or a thatched hut. I was only equipped with an address on a scrap of paper as I walked away from the tiny town center of Joching. The slow-flowing Danube to my right, a tangled sea of vines to my left. The road was narrow—not even wide enough for two cars—and a passing Kastenwagen nearly bullied me off the shoulder. I was close to throwing in the towel, but I marched onward a few hundred yards and stumbled upon a wooden sign that led me to an unassuming rural home. I rapped the door and a jocund motherly figure emerged. She welcomed me inside with a grin wider than the Danube and led me through their kitchen. We exited into the backyard and entered what can only be described as a small structure…
And there he was, tinkering with wine equipment. I’ll never forget shaking his gnarled hand. It felt like grabbing raw leather or a sturdy piece of petrified wood—a hand that could only come from a lifetime of manual labor. His English was rudimentary at best, but no words were needed to confirm that he was a true-blue farmer. Though communication was mostly through gestures, I felt as if I learned more in a day than what two native speakers could in a week. From vineyard to bottling, excluding harvest or a task that physically requires more than one body, he does everything himself. A literal one-man show. Johann’s life, his entire world, is single-handedly bottling wines of pure elegance and expression. His only agenda is passionate winemaking, and for those who cherish wine, that’s ultimately what it’s all about.”
Johann owns a handful of tiny neighboring plots around his homestead and today’s Riesling comes from the aptly-named “Ritzling” vineyard, which has been documented as far back as 1236! Johann farms (solo) according to the sustainability parameters outlined by the Wachau’s unique producers’ association, Vinea Wachau, which also created the well-known designations “Steinfeder,” “Federspiel,” and “Smaragd” to classify wines. Today’s bottle is a “Federspiel,” which, by definition, is a slightly richer, riper wine that reaches between 11.5% and 12.5% alcohol by volume.
After fermenting and raising the wine in stainless steel (and perhaps in a few old foudres that are laying around) for less than a year, the wine is quickly bottled to retain maximum freshness and precision. In the glass, Bäuerl’s 2018 Riesling Federspiel is like Johann at first—modest, soft-spoken—but with about 10 minutes of air, it comes alive. It erupts with green mango peel, white peach, kiwi, lime leaf, Meyer lemon, citrus zest, damp white flowers, and a hint of exotic spice. The dry, medium-bodied palate is pulsing with zesty layers of just-ripened fruit and crushed stone minerality but there is plenty of supple, mouthcoating weight to be had too. This is generous, refreshing, and approachable not a steely, high-acid, laser-beam Riesling. It’s impossible not to drink this now, so enjoy in all-purpose white around 50-55 degrees. Enjoy your remaining bottles over the next 1-2 years. Cheers!
