Neither French nor New Zealand, this Sauvignon Still Slaps
People are always surprised when I tell them that some of my favorite Sauvignon Blancs don't come from France or New Zealand. They come from Austria.
It's not a region that gets talked about very often, which is a shame because I think southern Styria produces some of the most complete, food-friendly Sauvignon Blancs in the world. They have all of the freshness and energy that make the grape so appealing, but they never feel like they're trying too hard. They're wines of texture instead of volume, of minerality instead of tropical fruit.
Every year when the Lackner-Tinnacher wines arrive, I make sure to grab a bottle.
The family has been farming in Gamlitz, in the heart of Südsteiermark, for generations, and today they're considered one of the benchmark producers in Austria. Their vineyards sit on steep slopes of limestone and marl near the Slovenian border, where warm days and cool alpine nights stretch out the growing season and preserve remarkable freshness in the fruit.
Instead of filling the room with passionfruit and grapefruit, it slowly unfolds in the glass. There's lemon zest, white peach, fresh herbs, elderflower, and that unmistakable scent of crushed stone that always seems to accompany the best wines from limestone soils. The palate is vibrant but never sharp, layered but never heavy, finishing with a saline, mineral edge that keeps you reaching for another sip.
More than anything, it reminds me that Sauvignon Blanc is capable of elegance.
If you handed this to someone blind, I think they'd spend a long time trying to place it. It has the tension of Sancerre, the texture of serious white Burgundy, and yet it remains unmistakably Austrian. It's a wine that's confident enough not to chase the loudest expression of the grape.
There are wines that impress you the first time you taste them, and then there are wines you find yourself buying year after year. The 2024 Lackner-Tinnacher "Gamlitz" Sauvignon Blanc falls squarely into the second category for me.
If you've never explored Austrian Sauvignon Blanc, I can't think of a better place to start. And if you already have, you know exactly why I get excited every time these bottles arrive.
93 Points, James Suckling
Beautiful floral aromas of jasmine, honeysuckle, nectarines and touches of orange blossoms and melon. Very fresh, cool and textured on the medium-bodied palate, with a salty undertone and pithy notes at the end. A fantastic village wine. From organically grown grapes. Drink now. Glass stopper. (CC)