Ott 'Der Ott' Grüner Veltliner

Score

91

"Pure, bright and fresh on the precise nose, you wouldn't guess this is a 2018. However, the 2018 Grüner Veltliner Der Ott is an excellent wine with some cow-stable notes on the nose and flavors of crushed or milled stones, yeast and weathered limestone. Very elegant and well-balanced on the palate, this is a medium-bodied and pretty intense Veltliner with textured finesse and mineral freshness on the finish. Excellent again! Tasted in December 2019. Drink 2020-2028."

Score

92

"The 2017 Grüner Veltliner Der Ott displays a clear, bright and yeasty bouquet with nutty aromas. This is delicate, but is it deep and complex or even sexy as well? Creamy and again yeasty on the palate, this is a pure, fresh and textured Veltliner with a remarkable long and salty finish with caramel flavors. Still young but with a very convincing finish, this is an excellent wine to be served with codfish or slightly toasted white fish. Tasted in December 2019. Drink 2020-2028"

Score

93

"Honeysuckle and lily-of-the-valley persists inner-mouth to the accompaniment of ripe pear, quince and Persian melon. Scents and crunch of snap pea remind that this is Grüner Veltliner after all, not Riesling, and offer welcome counterpoint to the wine’s silkiness of texture and lusciousness of fruit. The same can be said of crushed stone, iodine, and acupuncture-like impingements of pepper, cress and nettle in a focused and superbly-sustained finish mouthwateringly suffused with marine minerality. (As recent plantings are coming into fruition, some fruit from vines much younger than in the past will be included in this cuvée, which is sourced primarily from Rosenberg and Spiegel. One such share, from 16 year old vines above Rosenberg, will break loose from “Der Ott” to debut solo in 2017 as Grüner Veltliner Kirchthal.)"

Score

94

"Still a little undeveloped on the nose with some peach showing, but on the palate this has serious concentration and power for the moderate alcohol level. A very long, spicy finish. Better from 2018. Made from biodynamically-grown grapes. Screw cap."

Score

92

"The slightest hint of marzipan joins notes of Bosc and Comice pear. A concentrated palate reveals rounded fluidity, bright lemon freshness and layers of earthy, green flavors that are reminiscent of pear peel. The finish is clean."

Score

93

"Since Der Ott included the Erste Lage wines in 2014, this has become a super-second of Bernhard Ott. The 2015 Grüner Veltliner Der Ott also includes top grapes from crus such as Spiegel, Stein, and Rosenberg, whose 2015 bottlings are today based only on the oldest vines. Der Ott displays a very clear and aromatic yet fine and grapy fruit with a lovely crisp and spicy/herbal character. Intense and piquant on the palate this is a noble, very elegant and expressive Veltliner full of character. Round and charming but very pure, full of mineral tension, strength and salt in the finish this is a world-class Veltliner with a great aging potential. Without any doubt this is the greatest Ott I have ever tasted. Drink 2016-2030."

Score

93

"Ripe white peach mingles with crisp sugar-snap pea, accompanied by a hint of ocean spray and a captivatingly minty floral garland that could almost have come from a rarefied Barolo cru. A glossy, lusciously fruited midpalate leads to a superb finish featuring the mouthwatering saline-sweet savor of shrimp-shell reduction as well as marrowy and darkly ore-like depth. Relying as usual on 20- to 40-year-old vines from his three top sites, Ott’s “Ott” cuvée has been significantly enriched this year by a new vineyard that he envisions informing a future fourth single-site bottling, and which was formerly farmed by the same family whose Gemischter Satz Ott acquired in 2015. “Der Ott” has very often represented an extraordinary value, but never more so than in this instance."