GRASSL | Carnuntum | Ried Bärnreiser 1ÖTW | 2022
blaufränkisch | zweigelt | merlot | cabernet sauvignon

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While the Grassl family has been rooted in the Göttlesbrunn winegrowing tradition since the 18th century, the first wine was not bottled under the family name until the 1950s. The ‘Weingut Philipp Grassl’ came to life in 2006, when Philipp Grassl took control of his family’s winery that was producing artisanal wines since 18th century, thus infusing winemaking tradition with a new vision focused on precision, quality, and a profound respect for the land. Philipp’s approach was to craft wines that are true expressions of Carnuntum’s terroir, allowing the unique character of each vineyard site to shine through the grape varieties themselves.
Today we are going to review a very special wine from Carnuntum – a sub region of Niederösterreich – one of Austria‘s most famous wine regions – Carnuntum Ried Bärnreiser 1ÖTW | 2022 by Weingut Philipp Grassl. This wine is a harmonious blend of four grape varieties: 40% blaufränkisch (an old austrian variety, known as kékfrankos in Hungary or burgund mare in Romania), 30% zweigelt (Austria’s most famous red grape variety), 28% merlot, and 2% cabernet sauvignon, where blaufränkisch forms the wine’s main body and adds its trademark dark fruit notes, zweigelt provides up-front richness and a brings red fruit flavors into the mix, merlot rounds out the blend and offers a leaner and a more dynamic finish, while cabernet sauvignon adds color depth and tannic structure. 

The grapes for this wine were sourced from vines aged over 50 years from the Bärnreiser vineyard – an exceptional Erste Lage site (designated in Austria with the 1ÖTW label, which is Austria’s equivalent of a Premier Cru), reserved for locations with the highest potential for producing exceptional, terroir-driven wines. The Bärnreiser vineyard lies on the eastern edge of the Danube gravel terrace of the Arbesthal hills, without any direct forest boundary. Its name derives from the german word ‘Reisern‘, indicating that the natural vegetation on this barren, gravelly, and hot site consisted only of scrub and brushwood. The soils are very calcareous and deep beneath the gravel and pebble layers, which lends the wines a special complexity. The final wine has been aged for 18 months in small oak barriques (225L) and big oak tonneaux (500L), made of french and austrian oak (40% new oak), with additional bottle ageing time before it was deemed ready for the market.

Being Austria’s largest and most diverse wine region, Niederösterreich stretches from the Bohemian Massif in the northwest to the Pannonian Plains near the Hungarian border, encompassing an incredible range of microclimates and soils. The region’s three broad climatic zones (the cooler Weinviertel to the north, the Danube-cooled valleys west of Vienna, and the warmer Pannonian-influenced southeast part) shape its distinctive terroirs. Loess, gravel, limestone, and gneiss dominate the soils, each contributing to the varied expressions of the local grape varieties. The continental climate is moderated by the Danube River and the proximity to the Alps, allowing for a wide diurnal range between warm days and cool nights which helps preserve acidity and aromatic complexity in the grape berries. Niederösterreich is best known for its laser-sharp Grüner Veltliner and bone-dry Riesling, which showcase purity, minerality, and vivid freshness, but it also excels with rich Zweigelt and bold Blaufränkisch wines in the southeast. From the breattaking slopes of Wachau to the loess terraces of Wagram and the red-wine heartlands of Carnuntum, Niederösterreich embodies Austria’s full viticultural spectrum – refined, diverse, and profoundly connected to its geology.
Stretching east of Vienna toward Slovakian border, Carnuntum DAC unites ancient Roman heritage with a new generation of innovative winemakers. The region’s vineyards lie between the Leitha Range, Arbesthal Hills, and Hainburg Mountains, on soils of loess, loam, limestone, and gravelly terrace deposits left by the ancient Danube River and the vanished Paratethys Sea. This geological diversity, paired with hot, dry summers and cold, freezing winters, creates ideal ripening conditions for red grapes, especially Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch, which are the trademark of this elegant yet rich region. Proximity to Lake Neusiedl and the Danube River moderates temperature extremes, fostering balance and freshness. White varieties such as Chardonnay, Weissburgunder, and Grüner Veltliner also thrive here, producing wines with structure, minerality, and vibrant character. Today’s Carnuntum wines showcase a ripe yet elegant nuance, with a fruit-driven profile that makes them a real treasure for many wine connoisseurs and enthusiasts alike.

color: deep & opaque purple color
clarity: hazy crimson hues at the rim

In the glass, the wine presents a deep, almost opaque purple color, hinting at its concentration and vigor, with hazy crimson shades towards the rim of the glass.

intensity: pronounced & expressive
fruit character: overripe & dehydrated

The nose is pronounced and expressive, revealing a complex aromatic profile built on an overripe to dehydrated fruit character. The foreground is a powerful chorus of dark fruits: dark cherry, blackcurrant, luscious black plum, and blackberry. These fruit notes are intricately woven with nuances of toasted wood, fine tobacco, and subtle undertones of charcoal and smoke. The background reveals a fascinating layer of earthy minerality, filled with notes of pencil lead, granite, slate, and soil dust, complemented by a warm spice rack of peppercorn, nutmeg, and cloves, all tied together with an appealingly sweet hint of liquorice and subtle hints of leather.

sweetness: dry | acidity: high | alcohol: high | tannin: high | balance: fine
finish: lasting | aftertaste: crisp & seedy

On the palate, the wine feels rich and expressive, delivering a multi-layered and complex flavour profile that confidently balances fruit, oak, and the delicate hints of its mineral-driven terroir. It has a firm and grippy mouthfeel, with a full-bodied presence that is both bold and nuanced. This is a textbook example of a modern, new-world styled austrian wine blend that manages to highlight the unmistakable footprint of its origin. The wine tastes dry, supported by a vibrant acidity that lends freshness and energy. A well-integrated touch of alcoholic warmth adds to its generous structure, while ripe and grippy tannins provide a firm backbone that ties it all together. The wine has a long, crisp, and pleasantly-seedy aftertaste that lingers on the palate for quite a while.

maturity: developing | drink now or age for another 3 to 5 years
verdict: great | a benchmark wine | a wine that has all the traits to become legendary

Overall, this is a bold, rich, and impeccably structured wine blend that is all about nuance, showcasing the powerful minerality of its origin. This wine stands as the epitome of a modern-bred austrian red blend that masterfully combines power with elegance. The use of oak is generous but perfectly integrated into the wine’s body, adding layers of complexity without overshadowing the vibrant fruit and its terroir-driven minerality. While it is still developing, the wine can be enjoyed today, however, it possesses all the necessary traits to evolve beautifully over the next 3 to 5 years, promising to gain further aromatic sophistication and complexity.

The wine’s robust structure and intense dark fruit notes call for a dish of equal stature. We would recommend pairing it with a pan-seared duck breast served with a black cherry and peppercorn reduction sauce over a bed of earthy wild mushroom risotto. The savory richness of the duck breast will be matched by the wine’s full body and grippy tannins, creating a congruent pairing. The black cherry sauce will form a complementary bridge to the wine’s own dark fruit and oaky notes, while the peppercorn in the dish would echo the wine’s spicy character, creating a harmonious and memorable dining experience. Prost!
GRASSL | Carnuntum | Ried Bärnreiser 1ÖTW | 2022
variety: blaufränkisch | zweigelt | merlot | cabernet sauvignon
country: Austria
region: Niederösterreich | Carnuntum
rating: 96.0

The ‘Ried Bärnreiser’ vineyard is steeped in local lore, with 17th-century chronicles mentioning that the site, then called ‘Pernreiser’, was a place where witches were said to roam, which adds a touch of dark folklore to the wines produced here. The ‘1ÖTW’ designation on the label signifies ‘Erste Lage’ from the ‘Österreichische Traditionsweingüter’ – a classification marking Bärnreiser as one of Austria’s premier cru vineyard sites, reserved for locations with the highest potential for producing exceptional, terroir-driven wines.

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