Feiler-Artinger is a Biodynamic winery located in a baroque house in Rust am See near Lake Neusiedlersee in the Burgenland (Neusiedlersee-Hügelland) region of Austria.

Background: The business was founded by Gustav and Karoline Feiler in 1936 as a farm with cows. Their manure was added to the fields, now vineyards, which were added later. After the second world war Gustav and Karoline resurrected the production of Ruster Ausbruch, made from nobly rotten grapes. In 1955 Gustav’s son Hans took over. Hans and his wife were succeeded by his eldest son Kurt (the third generation). 

Today Kurt Feiler (3rd generation), with his wife Katrin run the estate. Inge and Hans Feiler, the parents of Kurt, still help out. Kurt is responsible for the vineyards and the cellar. Katrin is in the office, managing marketing and sales.

Kurt Feiler produces white, red and sweet wines. Dry white and sparkling wines are made along with three terroir-specific Blaufränkisch reds called Greiner (schist), Umriss (limestone) and Oberer Wald (Muschelkalk). “Blaufrankisch is our number one red grape and makes great wines in Burgenland,'” Kurt Feiler told me.

Biodynamic certification: 2011 First vintage with organic certification. | 2018 Certified Biodynamic by respekt-BIODYN. | 2022 Still Biodynamic.

Biodynamics: “I am so happy I decided to go Biodynamic in 2008. I am a respekt-BIODYN member because I am not an ecological or sustainability sermonizer, but rather a doer. The “doer rather than sermonizer” quote is from the bible and ‘it means not just believing but also doing – Jacob 2,14-26. I just wanted to know what Biodynamics was all about,” Kurt told me in 2022.

“So I met [the late Biodynamic consultant] Dr Andrew Lorand of the respekt group. Andrew said that with Biodynamics both sugar ripeness and physiological ripeness in the grapes would align, and that grapes would be physiological ripe at a lower sugar levels. That was one big problem I had seen in our vineyards. Especially in the 1990’s there was quite a big gap between sugar and physiological ripeness in our reds and so I tried Biodynamics and it worked. I saw great effects on Neuburger for example, our white grape, with enjoyed  much lower incidences of rot or none at all on their compact bunches.

Cows: In 2014 the estate got 3 cows who graze on grassland outside, near Lake Neusiedlersee . They are there from bud break to end of harvest. In the winter they are in the vineyards. As the estate had cows on the property way before it went Biodynamic I asked Kurt what the cows bring to the estate? Kurt replied by saying ‘cows was something we always had. It was was kind of normal having cows – having meat and their manure for fertility. We stopped cattle farming in 1997 when the winery was growing and we needed the space for new cellars and storage. Our time for the cattle had became too short; especially bringing in the hay which was a lot to do. But with Biodynanics and with the ideas of spraying compost tea I thought a few cows would be great – they mow the vineyards, we will have our own manure for the Horn manure 500 field spray, we can make compost from 100% our own raw material and we will have our own meat again!”

“Biodynamic farming really enhances the depth, structure, complexity and purity of the wine. Sensitive and sustainable work with the vines [mean] the vineyards bloom and flourish in the true sense of the word. We have three Mutterkühe or suckling cows which mow the cover crops in the vineyards in winter (see below). Marc and cow manure are used to make Biodynamic compost 502-507 and compost teas, the latter to be sprayed in spring. Compost teas are sprayed in spring.” The estate makes its own Biodynamic  Horn manure 500 and Horn Silica 501. 

Vineyards: 30ha around Rust am See and the Hügelland. Two thirds red: Blaufränkisch (the most important variety), plus Zweigelt, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and a little Pinot Noir and Shiraz. One third white, mainly Chardonnay, Weissburgunder and Welschriesling, plus some Traminer, Neuburger–a speciality here, Gelber Muskateller (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains), Muskat Ottonel and Ruländer.

Terroir: Soils are a mix of slate, stones and limestone on the gentle slopes of the Rust hill country, near the Neusiedlersee lake. Slate and limestone soils give the wines their unique freshness and minerality. The mesoclimate is influenced by the shallow waters of the Neusiedlersee lake.

Sparkling wines

Frizzante: 2020 Semi-sparkling wine. Gelber Muskateller and Muscat Ottonel. 2020 was not too hot.

Sekt Blaufrankisch Rosé: 2011 95% Blaufränkisch and 5% Cabernet Franc. Made at the Sektkellerei Szigeti in Gols.

White wines

Chardonnay: 2018 100% Chardonnay.

Chardonnay, S: ‘Rust has been famous for its sweet wines for centuries – the Ruster Ausbruch. Because of the special, good microclimate, the “normal” wine was always full-bodied, a little stronger and usually with a little residual sugar. This type of wine was no longer much in demand from the 1980s /1990s and was a bit forgotten. The estate felt there was still a market for this style. | 2019: Late harvest brought a high degree of ripeness to the grapes. Spontaneous fermentatio. Long maturation on the fine lees.

Gustav: Gustav: Gustav is named after Gustav Feiler, founder of the winery. | 2012 50% each Neuburger and Chardonnay. Barrel aged (one third new). | 2018: Gustav 65% Neuburger and 35%. The base wines are harvested and matured separately. Fermentation is always done in barriques, in 2018 2/3 of the barrels were new. The 2018 vintage was a wonderful year. Ideal for harvesting fully ripe grapes.

Pinot Blanc: Labelled Pinot Blanc as opposed to Weissburgunder. From loam and limestone: 2013 Crisp pineapple, nice and simple, clean and ripe (Millésime Bio 2015).

Gelber Muskateller: Gelber Muskateller or yellow muscatel is the name given to Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains in Austria (and Germany). It has been cultivated in Rust for centuries for its aroma and high acidity as a sweet wine (Ruster Ausbruch). They planted it to harvest sweet wines from it as often and and as regularly as possible. However, the yellow muscatel in the “Bandkraft” vineyard rarely gets noble rot and is therefore always harvested early. | 2019 A great vintage. This is not available as a frizzante, as is usually the case, but for the first time as (still) wine.

Muskat Ottonel:

Neuburger: Neuburger has thin skins, tight bunches, and short internodes, so can suffer rot. With Biodynamics there is far less rot (previously 30% of bunches could rot ignobly. | 2015 A warm, dry season, which is what this disease-prone variety needs. From 4 sites. Destemmed. Long pressing: 5-6 hours in the press overnight. Old barrels. 100% MLF. Lovely, delicious, savoury (Tenuta Manincor 24th June 2016.) | 2018 Trocken 13%. Lot 10324/19. Lovely saline yellow fruit, focussed, soft but vibrant. Delicious and really well thought out in terms of fruit weight and ripeness, very good, my kind of white wine (tasted May 2019).

Pinot Blanc: Here they call it Pinot Blanc rather than Weisserburgunder.

O.S. OLÉ BIO Wines O.S. is the name for the estate’s “Natural Wines”, wines of the 4th wine colour, namely orange. O.S. is an acronym for no added sulfites, or Wein ohne Sulfit or Wein ohne Schwefel in German.

O.S. OLÉ Bio Welschriesling: 2018 Bottled. No added sulfites. So-called “Orange Wines” are wines made from white grapes which, due to their special design, especially the absence of sulfur, have a darker, (delicate) orange colour. The grapes for the 20018 were harvested on August 31, pressed and filled into a red wine fermentation tank made of stainless steel. Fermentation started spontaneously 3 days later and lasted 2 weeks. A 500 liter barrel was filled with the “straining wine” that ran off the tank. The pressed wine came in a used barrique (225 liters). After 7 months of maturation in barrel it was racked into a tank on May 4th. Deliberately not completely bare but with a little fine yeast that keeps the wine fresh in the bottle for longer (for years). Bottling took place the day after the withdrawal.

Pink wines

Rosé vom Blaufrankisch:

Red wines

Blaufrankisch, Ried Ruster Greiner: The Greiner site is one of the old, historic sites in Rust. The gentle slope begins on the one hand directly on the southern outskirts of Rust, on the other hand directly on the shore of Lake Neusiedl. The soil is granite-gneiss primary rock with a high iron content. The Greiner is one of the, if not the earliest, locations in Rust. The Blaufränkisch planted here in 1983 therefore always has a very high level of ripeness, is dense, strong and, in addition to the deep berry fruit, shows a spicy, earthy aroma. The Blaufränkisch from Greiner usually comes in barriques and, along with Blaufränkisch from other locations, forms the basis for the Cuvée Solitaire. The idea of ​​maturing part of this location without new wood and not in barriques but in large wooden barrels and bottling it separately was provided by winemaker King Harald Krassnitzer. | 1986 Burgenland. 12.5%. Debut vintage. Thermovinification. No MLF. | 2016 Burgenland. Trocken. 13.5%. Biodynamic (respekt-BIODYN certified). Soft, clear, expressive and yet subtle wild darkish red and lightish black fruit. Juicy, savoury red fruit with excellent balance. Smooth and well-weighted, fine and clear and deliciously precise and individual (tasted 18 May 2019).

Leithaberg DAC Blaufränkisch, Ried Ruster Oberer Wald: A Blaufränkisch from the single vineyard „Oberer Wald“ in Rust. South facing slope (north-south planted) with a fossile limestone soil. Great terroir for BF!,’ Kurt wrote to me. 2018 Trocken. LN4506/21.14% alc. 27 year old vines. Picked 20 Sept 2018. Fermented spontaneously in an open vat. MLF. Aged in barrel, 50% new. 14% alc. 1g/litre residual sugar. Drink 2021-2051. Single vineyard, north west of Rust on [sandy brown earth] on fossil limestone [Muschelkalk], south facing and at a high altitude (for this estate). Open vat fermentation with ambient yeast. Natural MLF. Aged 24 months in barrels. 50% new. Very clear fruit expression, well balanced and smooth, like velvet, effortless, its tannic weave totally in sync with the fruit (Sept 2021).

Blaufrankisch, Umriss: The Riede Umriss is the largest single location in the Rust vineyards. It is located northwest of Rust (almost entirely) above the goods road towards Oslip. The idiosyncratic name comes from the colloquial “tearing or tearing up” the soil, i.e. plowing or fields. Until about 1850–1860 the area was wooded. Then the forest was cleared and the ground for the planting of the vines was “knocked over”. Due to the barren, calcareous soil and the rigorous yield reduction, the grapes are very ripe year after year. Limestone soil. Sloping. 4 plots with different ages. One plot was green-grafted over from Welschriesling (on 5 BB Kober). The other three are on 161/49. After fermentation, the wine remains on skins for about 2 weeks in order to leach out all fruit aromas and tannins. Then the malolactic fermentation takes place in a large wooden barrel. The further maturation of up to 18 months takes place in large wooden barrels (750 to 1500 litres). | 2012 Stainless steel then to faß for MLF. 13m in fass. Chewy, very nice rich fruit, moreish and savoury (Millésime Bio 2015). | 2013 15m in large oak. Lovely pure licorice, savoury (Tenuta Manincor 24th June 2016).

Blaufrankisch, Reserva: From Muschelkalk: 2012 A selection from barrels of the best wines. Nice freshness. Lovely wild dark plum flavours. Some spritz too. Sweet licorice (Tenuta Manincor 24th June 2016).

Cabernet Franc: ‘This variety loves soils with shell limestone (‘muschelkalk‘) in the subsoil and loamy topsoil. This is exactly what you will find here in the Riede Gemerk.

Cabernet Sauvignon: Cabernet Sauvignon has been grown at Feiler-Artinger since 1988. It has been part of the Cuvée Solitaire since the first harvest in 1990 and from 1992 to 2002 (‘1008’) the main variety of the Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon – Merlot”. A pure Cabernet Sauvignon was originally not a goal. But in 2005 and 2008 a 100% Cabernet was made. The 2008 showed the great potential of this variety. For this reason, part of the Cabernet Sauvignon has been offered as a single varietal every year since 2011.

Cabernet-Merlot 1013:

Cabernet-Merlot, 1014: 2008 The well-known “1000” cuvée (since 2003) in a new look: Before the 2002 vintage, it was still “Cabernet Sauvignon – Merlot”, but is now called “Cabernet – Merlot”. This is because, from the 2003 vintage, the Cabernet franc forms the largest share instead of the Cabernet Sauvignon. It is complemented in 2008 by Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The number ‘1014’ is also easily explained: Born in 2008, felt in 2010. In 2010 Austria (ostarichi) was or was 1014 years old.

Merlot: ‘The Merlot is a frugal variety that makes no special demands on the soil and the climate. Limestone soils are ideal, however, and because of the rather thin skins, areas with not too high amounts of precipitation, such as here in Burgenland and in Rust,’ say the owners. | 2018 The 2018 vintage is only the second in which a single-variety Merlot was bottled.

Pinot Nero, Gertberg: The Gertberg vineyard is the highest Ruster vineyard site and is next to Umriss. Small plot on the top of the hill. The location is flat, like a high plateau and therefore one of the windiest in the area. The barren, quickly drying soil (sandy) is ideal for the Pinot noir grape variety. In 1998 they planted, the rows oriented N-S. Pinot Noir, Dijon clones 114, 115 and 667 in the Gertberg vineyard on a low vigour rootstock (161-49 Couderc). N-S rows. Strict green harvest and high ripeness, very small harvest every year – only 4 or 5 barriques are bottled as Gertberg. The wine ferments on the mash in an open vat. The mash is pushed in by hand up to 3 times a day during fermentation. The wine then undergoes malolactic fermentation and further maturation in barriques. | 2012 Fermented in steel. Aged in old and new wood. Old wood, tiring out (Tenuta Manincor 24th June 2016). | 2013 Fermented in wood. Not tasted.

Solitare: Individually set diamonds are known as solitaire. The Solitaire is the top red wine in the house and therefore its jewel, it bears this name. It is only made from the best locations and the best grapes. Blaufränkisch, now blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot [and BZ?]. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks. The malolactic fermentation takes place in large oak barrels and then the wines are moved into barriques. The Solitaire matures in the barrel for 24 months. | | 2011 Soft bright red fruit and new oak at dinner at the Seehof Keller 23 June 2016. | 2012 87% Blaufränkisch, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot. 15m in barrel. Little bit closed, rich, quite tight, the Bordeaux varieties dominate at the finish (Millésime Bio 2015). | 2016 is a cuvée with the main share of Blaufränkisch (88%). The wine is complemented and completed by small proportions of Merlot (11%) and Cabernet Franc (1%).

Sweet wines

Ruster Ausbruch: 2018 12,5 % alc. 185g/l RS.

Ruster Ausbruch DAC, Gelber Muskateller: In 2006, 3 rows of Gelber Muskateller (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains) were planted. This vineyard is regularly attacked by noble rot (Botrytis cinerea) and produces beautiful outbreak wines. In some years the yellow muscatel is filled with other varieties together as Cuvée Ruster Ausbruch. |  2013 Bottled. | 2018 This was a great sweet wine year with a lot of noble rot. Hence the Muscateller was bottled solo.7% alc. 294 g/l RS.

Ruster Ausbruch Pinot Cuvée: 2013 Pinot Blanc, Neuburger, Pinot Gris. 100% noble rot. 9% alcohol. 247g/l RS. Very sweet, cordial, clean, plenty of extract, very very good (Manincor 24th June 2016). | 2017 Weissburgunder (Pinot blanc) and Chardonnay. 12% alc. 205 g/l residual sugar.

Ruster Ausbruch Essenz: The ‘Essence’ name is used on those Ruster Ausbruch wines that are made from particularly nobly rotten shriveled grapes and berries (what in Tokaji would be ‘essencia’. The juice of these berries is so sweet that it is difficult and slow for the yeast to ferment. The alcohol that is produced during fermentation remains below 10% vol. and the residual sugar is well over 250 grams. | 2007 was a very early vintage – also for the noble sweet wines. The harvest of the Ruster Ausbruch wines could already begin on September 28th, earlier than ever Chardonnay (60%) and Welschriesling (40%). 6,5 % alc. 365 g/l residual.

Traminer Beerenauslese: 2017 12% alc. Clean, tropical style of crisp fruit (August 2019).

Contact

Weingut Feiler-Artinger

Hauptstrasse 3,

A-7071 Rust am See, Austria

Tel+43 2685.237 | Website: www.feiler-artinger.at