The Buyer | How new agencies shone at the ’40 Years of Bibendum’ tasting

Austria’s Lenzmark which is a new wine project from Markus Huber and Lenz Moser in order to open up Grüner Veltliner to an international audience.Markus Huber, Falstaff’s winemaker of the year, was showing his range of delightful, organic, terroir-driven expressions of Grüner Veltliner at the tasting – wines that he has been making since taking charge of family estate Weingut Huber in the Traisental region of Austria back in 2000. What was particularly fascinating was New Chapter Gruener Veltliner 2020 (sic) which, as the name suggests, is a new take on the variety.

From the style of the bottle to the ‘international’ style of the wine New Chapter is aimed at premium international restaurants – making a Grüner that is less driven by terroir and vintage variation and more fruit-driven and consistent. Made using a mix of formats – acacia foudres, second-fill barrels and steel – this manages to mix Grüner Veltliner’s delicacy with some mid-palate power. There’s more fruit, creaminess and a rounder mouthfeel. It’s an impressive new direction. (£21.94). (You can read The Buyer’s interview with Lenz Moser about the New Chapter project here.)