Our connection with Schloss Gobelsburg dates back to Clark Foyster Wine’s Day One. Compared with the 850 years that the estate will be celebrating at in 2021, it doesn’t seem very much to shout about, but our partnership with Michael and Eva Moosbrugger and their team over our brief period of operation, has been a very important one.
Schloss Gobelsburg is a Cistercian-owned estate which Michael took over – on a two generation lease – in 1995. The monks realised that with their dwindling numbers, they were struggling to do justice to their wonderfully-located vineyards in the heart of the Kamptal region. I am certain that now, 25 years on, as they look on from their home in Zwettl at the success which Michael has made of the challenge they offered him, that they are utterly thrilled with the estate’s reputation as one of the best in the whole of Austria.
Under Michael’s leadership the estate has grown and now covers 80 hectares. A wide range of wines are produced, and all are of the highest quality (There is sparkling, dry white, red and sweet). Michael’s predecessor, Father Bertrand, brought some Pinot Noir back from Burgundy in the 1950s, and this grape is important both for red and the sparkling wines. But of course it is Grüner Veltliner and Riesling which dominate the vineyards and the portfolio, and there is a range of styles from crisp and lively through to complex and ageworthy .
Amongst the many achievements during his time at Gobelsburg, Michael’s role leading the region into a vineyard classification is one of his proudest, I think. As a result of his vision and leadership in the Danube area, the following regions now have all agreed on the designation of Premier Cru, or Erste Lage for the best 15%. Grand Cru will follow later, we expect, but for now we are happy to see that Heiligenstein and Gaisberg for Riesling and Renner, Grub and Lamm for Grüner Veltliner are all classified now as Este Lagen.
Watch a video of Michael Moosbrugger in his vineyard, talking about the situation in Austria during the Coronavirus lockdown and hope for the future (April 2020):
