News from Austria: Allram’s Amazing 2021s
Austria is at a watershed moment, and 2021 looks to be one of the greatest vintages they have produced in the last 40+ years—that’s on top of a string of vintages that run from good-to-better-to-great! Most exciting are the incredible wines coming to us from Weingut Allram, one of our Direct Import producers who offers price-to-quality ratio that is insanely good. Plus, their wines have the critical acclaim to back it up—they’re just outstanding and won’t break the bank. Located in the Kamptal in the Danube Valley, Allram fashions wines that run the gamut from entry level and incredibly affordable to top-tier wines that go above and beyond in terms of quality and price—all while competing on the world’s stage for best white wine values on the planet.
The flagship offering is the astoundingly good 2021 Allram Grüner Veltliner Kamptal (1L) $10.99, which represents an other-worldly value at only $10.99—and a liter-sized bottle to boot! Fresh and vibrant with stone fruits, spice, and almond notes, this zesty white is the perfect glug-glug white to enjoy on a picnic, for a party, or just as your delightful daily drinking white.
Stepping up a bit in price—but not too much—we have the 2021 Allram "Strass" Grüner Veltliner Kamptal $13.99 92FS. This is a notch up from the liter bottling as far as complexity goes. It slowly unfurls on the palate to reveal harmonious notes of apples, mango, and orange zest with hints of minerals and iodine.
The 2021 Allram "Alte Reben" Grüner Veltliner Kamptal $19.99 93FS offers greater complexity with pure stone fruits and tropical notes accented by dried herbs and minerals that lead into a long, lingering finish. These three wines all offer an amazing wine experience for an unbelievable price.
Allram not only does under-$20 wines well, they have an array of top-notch single-vineyard offerings that really showcase Austria’s ability to make world-class white wines. The 2021 Allram "Ried Gaisberg" Grüner Veltliner Kamptal $29.99 WA92 DC92 JS90 is loaded with stone fruits and a juicy palate that displays copious fruit notes and wonderful mineral accents.
The other offering from the Gaisberg vineyard is the 2021 Allram "Ried Gaisberg" Riesling Kamptal $29.99 DC95 93WA 93JS. It’s a great example of the heights that Riesling can achieve in Austria, where this wine can compete with the greatest examples to come out of both Alsace and Germany. Incredibly pure with notes of stone fruit and intense minerality and salinity, this Riesling is mouthwatering with a long, energetic finish that lasts 30+ seconds.
The last of our amazing set of wines from Allram is the 2021 Allram "Heiligenstein" Riesling Kamptal $39.99 94WA 91DC from one of the most acclaimed vineyard sites in all of Austria for Riesling, and it does not disappoint. Intense and spicy with mineral notes, citrus, and juicy acidity, this is an outstanding Riesling.
These higher-end Allram offerings are an incredible insight into the world-class wines Austria is capable of producing and offer a great alternative to Chardonnay-based wines.
- Alex Pross, Austria Buyer