Natural Gruner, a revision and a better comparison
A few days ago I reported on the Sepp Moser 'Minimal' Gruner Veltliner (here), which is made without any sulfur dioxide additions. I compared this 2005 with the regular 2006 from the same vineyard. Well now I have my hands on a 2005 to do a better comparison with, and I also have some of the 2005 Minimal left in the fridge.
On retasting the Minimal, some three nights after it was first opened, I'm going to revise my judgement. I think this is a fantastic wine. It is profound, even. I'm getting complex notes of orange, vanilla, lemon, herb, butterscotch and toast. The palate is concentrated with a lovely bitter citrus freshness to the warm nutty, toasty flavours. It's unusual but lovely. 94/100
So, now to the Sepp Moser Gruner Veltliner Schnabel 2005 Kremstal, Austria. A yellow gold colour, it has a beguiling, complex aroma of nuts, herbs, pepper and toast. The palate has a lively presence of fresh, herby, peppery fruit together with some nutty depth. As is typical of Gruner, there's an interesting texture: it's not fat, but there's some broadness, although the overall effect is one of dryness. Quite serious and food friendly. 91/100
Labels: austria, gruner veltliner, natural wine
posted by Jamie @ 7:14 PM
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3 Comments:
I am sold, but where can it be found???
jamie, this is unrelated to the post but was wondering if you have anything to say about Hugh Johnson's view on the irrelevance of vintages?
food traveller, I'll ask around
nathan, I didn't read what Hugh had to say. I'm guessing it was that modern winemaking is ironing out inconsistencies. Yet, the way I see it, is that nature gives us something different with each vintage, and while we want to do the best we can each year, we need to allow the vintage to speak in the same way that we allow the site to express itself.
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