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 More than thirty of Austria's signature grape variety tasted and reviewed,
"so you don't have to." Most of the Grüner
Veltliners below are grown in the regions of Weinviertel, Kamptal, Kremstal and Wachau,
to the
north and west of Vienna (bordering Slovakia and the Czech Republic). GV
broadly falls into two style categories: racy zesty and peppery or richer
creamier and concentrated (but still with fresh acidity), the latter
usually from the best sites and/or old vines (alte Reben in German).
It
might not necessarily be Austria's greatest variety or wine - arguably the country's
Rieslings or sweet wines could claim that trophy, although certain GVs and
occasionally red wines come
awfully close. But GV is often attractive, modern, full of character and gives Austrian growers a
'unique point of difference', to lapse into marketing babble. Which, in a
world of samey grapes and wines, has to be a good thing. These wines were
tasted at the
www.austrian.wine.co.at annual London bash, Feb 2007. Report posted
July 07. Stars of the show include Prager, Angerer, Graf Hardegg,
Wieninger, Bründlmayer and Gritsch Mauritiushof.
Weinviertel
Norbert Bauer 2005 Haiberg (13% alc)
- maturing oily fruit with exotic, almost 'botrytis' notes; mineral
freshness v weight v perfumed fruit. 87+
Graf Hardegg 2006 Veltlinsky - nice crisp green fruit v oily style,
zippy and fresh. £7.50 85-87
Graf Hardegg 2006 vom Schloss - richer and gummier than above,
chalky v gooseberry and spicy, zesty length.
88-90
Graf Hardegg 2005 Reserve vom Schloss - peachy and quite exotic
nose, herbal zesty mouth-feel v creamy and powerful, tight peppery steely
finish. Wow. 94+?
Friedrich Rieder 2005 Alte Reben (14.5) - ripe oily exotic nose
leads to spicy green fruit, big rich mouth-feel with crisp backdrop;
almost a wow but a bit too alcoholic. 88-90
KAMPTAL
Jurtschitsch-Sonnhof 2006 Kamptal
(12.5% alc) - zesty celery and mineral tones; rounder mouth-feel with
lightly oily, quite soft texture v crisp length.
85+
Jurtschitsch-Sonnhof 2006 Dechant Alte Reben (13.5) - richer
gummier palate, more concentrated and intense with fine peppery length
plus weight too. 89
Jurtschitsch-Sonnhof 2006 Schenkenbichl (13.5) - creamy
peachy fruit, weightier still with a touch of residual sugar balanced by
subtle linear acidity, nice bite and elegant length.
89-91
Laurenz V. 2005 Charming GV (12.5) - riper more complex nose than
the two 06s below, herbal v exotic with creamy oily development, quite
weighty. 87+
Laurenz V. 2006 Friendly GV (tank sample, 12) - creamier fuller
style than below, round v crisp mouth-feel with grapey v peppery fruit.
£6.99 85-87
Laurenz und Sophie 2006 Singing GV (tank sample, 12) - zesty
yeast-lees depth with gummy ripe green fruit notes, quite soft and
attractive now. £6.99 85
Maria Angeles Hiedler 2006 Spiegel - spicy fennel aromas set the
scene for a juicy fresh green fruit palate v oily lightly weighty texture.
89
Rudolf Rabl 2004 Käferberg - fennel aromas with oily maturity,
greenish fruit v fatter dimension too; interesting to try an older one,
although perhaps lacks panache. 87
Matthias Hager 2004 Seeberg (13.5) - creamy and oily v celery
crispness and spice, fair weight on the finish and still fresh too.
89-91
Fred Loimer 2006 Lois - racy green fruit set on its oily texture,
crisp spicy finish. 87+
Kurt Angerer 2006 Kies (12.5) - aromatic juicy
blackcurrant leaf tones, spicy v creamy lees palate, incisive fresh
length. 90
Kurt Angerer 2005 Loam (13.5) - nutty white peach tones turning
more vegetal and mineral; creamy texture and maturing fruit v fresh dry
bite. 88-90
Kurt Angerer 2005 Eichenstaude (14) - richer and concentrated,
light toffee notes v tight fresh length, weighty too.
92-94
Kurt Angerer 2005 Unfil (14) - floral nose moves on to light toffee
and lees fatness on the palate, weighty (again that 14% makes its mark)
but rounded with light toast, power v dry bite.
92-94
Willi Bründlmayer 2006 Terrassen (12.5) - zesty perfumed celery and
gooseberry, richer palate with gummy cream v subtle zingy finish; tight
spicy mineral and zesty length. 90-92
Willi Bründlmayer 2005 Alte Reben - lovely combination of oily
mineral and fennel v richer peachy fruit, crisp and lively v rounded and
full. 90-92
KREMSTAL
Sepp Moser 2005 Gebling - aromatic
vegetal v creamy nose leads to peppery palate set on juicy fruit, showing
oily maturity too. 87
Sepp Moser 2005 Breiter Rain - richer more concentrated wine with
oily, light toffee flavours v greengage and fresh elegant length.
89-91
Petra Unger 2005 Alte Reben Oberfeld (13.5) - peach v celery tones,
quite soft with underlying subtle crispness.
85-87
Lenz Moser 2006 Selection (12) - crisp green fruit with zingy spicy
mouth-feel, attractive 'commercial' style. 85
Stadt Krems 2006 Weinzierlberg (13) - creamy v tight and zingy
style, chalky extract v citrus zest and spicy finish.
85-87
Martin Nigl 2006 Senftenberg Piri (12.5) - quite lively gummy nose
with crisp mineral bite, zesty and long with nice extract too.
89-91
 WACHAU
Prager 2005 Federspiel Hinter der
Burg (12) - complex oily mineral notes move on to a fatter juicy palate
with crisp, chalky, spicy length. 89-91
Prager 2005 Smaragd Achleiten (13) - quite rich and creamy; very
intense and peppery with concentration, power then tight steely length.
92-94
Gritsch Mauritiushof 2006 Smaragd Singerriedel (13.5) - zesty and
leesy, concentrated and intense with very crisp acidity and peppery tones
v power and creamy green fruit. 92
WAGRAM/DONAULAND
Franz Leth 2006 Roter Veltliner
Scheiben (13.5) - a sibling variety apparently: very vibrant gooseberry
with floral peach notes, gummy and zesty with fresh chalky finish.
89
Toni Söllner 2006 Hengstberg (biodynamic estate, tank
sample, 13) - lively yet complex aromas, caramel tones set against a spicy
and very crisp length. 88-90
WIEN (ohh VIENNA, dum tet
dum dud-dum...)
Fritz Wieninger 2006 Herrenholz -
lovely zesty aromatic and peppery, gummy and fresh with long juicy finish.
90
Fritz Wieninger 2006 Kaasgraben (14) - deliciously rich v spicy,
citrus fruit v fatter weight; power, length and finesse all roll on
together. 94
Fritz Wieninger 2006 Nassberg - fuller and more concentrated,
buttery v kiwi fruit, spicy and tight v rich-bodied.
92-94
NEUSIEDLERSEE-HÜGELLAND
Leopold Sommer 2006 Bergweingarten M
(13) - very Sauvignon Blanc on the nose, ripe kiwi fruit with herbal
edges; peppery palate then quite fat and buttery, crisp zingy finish
though. 88-90
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