Styria?

VIENNA â€”  The judges were adamant.

“Absolutely classic; it can only be French,� said one.

“Very elegant; definitely a Loire wine,� said another.

“With these ripe flavors, it must come from New Zealand,� said a third. “Oh, yes, this is the real McCoy.�

The wine in glass No. 9--with its combination of ripe gooseberry flavors and herbaceous aromas--was obviously a Sauvignon Blanc and obviously a very good one.

And though they may have disagreed as to its exact identity, the panelists convened at the Hotel Bristol to choose the world’s greatest dry white wines were nearly unanimous in their praise. The wine in glass No. 9 scored even higher than the 1995 Montrachet “Grand Cru� from Domaine de la Romanee Conti, the world’s most expensive dry white wine.

So you can imagine the judges’ consternation when the wine turned out to be not one of the grand names from the Loire, California or even New Zealand, but the 1993 Zieregg Sauvignon Blanc from Manfred Tement in the Austrian province of Styria.

Where?

As recently as three years ago, few wine lovers knew the names of Tement or Erich and Walter Polz or any of the other leading vintners from this relatively remote region among the gently undulating hills on the Austrian-Slovenian border.

Now their wines are on the lists of some of America’s hottest restaurants and are attracting critical praise. The speed with which they have won friends and influenced people has to do not only with their high quality but also with their full-flavored yet crisp style that appeals to international tastes.

Styria’s vintners also have the advantage that there are several fashionable white wine grapes among the region’s most important varietals. Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay have been grown there for at least a century (the latter under the name Morillon). And though Pinot Blanc (Weissburgunder) and Pinot Gris (Grauburgunder) may not be consumer favorites around the world, they do have a growing audience.

So why did it take Styria so long to begin making an impression on wine drinkers outside Austria?

First, there was international politics. Until 1989, Styrian vineyards often ended only yards from what used to be the Iron Curtain.

More important, until a decade ago, none of the region’s vintners was realizing his full potential.

“We did not know what great wines were back then, we just tried to make cleaner, more varietally typical wines,� Erich Polz says. “Then came the big success of the late 1980s, when Austrian consumers suddenly wanted dry wines from independent growers, exactly what we had to offer. That changed everything.�

The Polz brothers have 44 acres of vineyards at their own estate and also manage the 17 1/2-acre Rebenhof estate in nearby Ratsch. Walter manages the vineyards while Erich makes and sells the wine.

Sauvignon Blanc, Morillon, Weissburgunder and Grauburgunder all regularly give outstanding wines. The fickle Gelber Muskateller (Muscat Canelli) and Gewurztraminer yield hit-or-miss results but in the right vintage can give dry white wines with almost supernaturally intense aromas.

Polz is rightly excited about the 1997 vintage, which looks even better than the excellent ‘90, ’92 and ’93 vintages that first attracted international interest.

“We may be quite far south [Southern Styria lies on the same latitude as Burgundy’s Cote d’Or], but due to the altitude, our battle is to fully ripen the grapes,� he says. “That means late harvesting. In 1997 we picked in October and early November as usual but got superb ripeness.�

It is the long ripening season in Styria that makes it possible for wine like Polz’s 1997 Sauvignon Blanc from the Hochgrassnitzberg vineyard to be so aromatic and balanced in spite of its 14% alcohol.

In a warmer climate, this would be a sure-fire recipe for a heavy, thunderous wine. Instead, grass, sweet red pepper and black currant aromas leap out of the glass, and lavish flavors pour over the palate. Yet it remains absolutely clean with a spicy aftertaste that comes back at you like a whiplash.

The 1997 Morillon from the Herrenberg vineyard under the Rebenhof label also packs a big punch of flavor--ripe pears and wet stones--yet is crisp and elegant. It is a magnificent example of what can be achieved with the Chardonnay grape in Southern Styria without barrel fermentation or maturation in new oak casks. Only in Chablis can similarly impressive wines from the Chardonnay grape in this style be found.

The Polz brothers’ 1997 Morillon from the Hochgrassnitzberg is even more concentrated in flavor but will need a couple of years of bottle age before it overtakes the already delicious Herrenberg wine. It was barrel fermented, but Polz notes that the youngest barrels had been used for eight earlier vintages.

“Styrian wines are about fruit and clarity, not heavy oak flavors,� he says.

Like several of his colleagues, Polz began experimenting with new oak casks nearly a decade ago. Though he has reduced his use of them substantially during the last few years, some other leading Styrian winemakers--including Tement--have become convinced that barrel fermentation with a proportion of new wood is ideal for their best wines.

Though Tement uses a mixture of old wooden barrels and stainless steel tanks for varietal dry whites he sells under the name “Steirische Klassik� (Styrian Classic), nearly all of his vineyard-designated wines spend some time in small French oak casks.

“Wood is a winemaking technology that helps give more structured wines, but it can never ‘make’ a wine. The quality always comes from there,� he says, pointing out the cellar door in the direction of the Zieregg vineyard, the steep slope of which falls away directly below the Tements’ house.

Fifteen acres of Tement’s 34 acres of vineyards lie here, though he sells only a fraction of the wines from here under the “Zieregg� vineyard designation, so rigorously does he select for quality during the harvest.

The mention of “Zieregg� is enough to set Austrian wine collectors salivating. When you taste a wine like Tement’s 1997 Zieregg Sauvignon Blanc, you can see why.

Sauvignon Blanc does not get richer or more intense in flavor than this. And unlike so many wines from this grape of a similar age that are already peaking, it is only just beginning to show its paces.

The fruit aromas range from melon to gooseberry and black currant, but it is the complex herbal and mineral notes on the aftertaste that make this a world-class Sauvignon Blanc. A slight whiff of vanilla is the only mark its sojourn in wood has left on the wine.

Tement’s non-oaked 1997 Sauvignon Blanc “Steirische Klassik� smells like a summer meadow--wild flowers, grass and the warm earth beneath--and is at once crisp and silky in texture.

The 1997 Morillon “Steirische Klassik� is further proof that Chardonnay can give first-class wines in Styria without any new oak. It has a pure ripe pear character and a wonderful clarity of flavor, the ample alcohol perfectly balanced by the refreshing acidity.

In contrast, you could easily mistake the 1997 Zieregg Morillon for a Puligny-Montrachet were it not more forthrightly aromatic and vivacious than white Burgundies normally are.

Tement’s 1997 Weissburgunder from the Grassnitzberg vineyard demonstrates that in the right vintage, Styrian Pinot Blanc is every bit a match for the region’s Chardonnays. It has rich but very subtle spicy aromas and a richer, more supple texture than Tement’s 1997 Morillons. The aftertaste is long and silky.

It is not only these wines that make Tement stand out among Styria’s winemakers, it’s also what he does with the Welschriesling grape that dominates plantings in Styria’s 8,675 acres of vineyards.

Unrelated to the genuine Riesling vine, the grape produces wines that are normally very light, very tart and rustic. Attempts to coax something better from Welschriesling usually result in blunt, clumsy wines lacking in charm.

But the ripe apple character and crisp acidity of Tement’s 1997 Welschriesling “Steirische Klassik� prove that something considerably more exciting is possible when nature smiles and a talented winemaker is at work.