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 (11/07)
Sepp Moser Gruner Veltliner Schnabel 2006 Kremstal,
Austria
A classic Gruner, this has a lovely peppery freshness with richer textural
elements to the fruit. There's some bright minerality and fresh acidity
on the palate, keeping this from being fat, and combined with the
smooth, rich texture it makes for quite a compelling wine that should
age nicely in bottle. Pure, refined and expressive. 91/100
11/07
Sepp Moser Gruner Veltliner Schnabel 'Minimal' 2005
Kremstal, Austria
This wine, made without any added sulfur dioxide, is pretty wild stuff.
There's a hint of cloudiness to the yellow/golden colour. On the nose,
spicy, slightly peppery fresh notes are combined with richer, toasty,
vanilla, bready elements to create a warm, complex whole. The palate has
really nice tangy, minerally acidity under the warm toasty, bready
notes. There's also some tannic structure here, which is unusual in
whites. Extremely food friendly and quite complex, with a pleasant sort
of reductive character. Who knows how this will develop, but it's quite
serious and thought provoking now. 92/100
11/07
Feiler-Artinger Blaufränkisch Trocken 2005 Burgenland,
Austria
This is a nice fresh cherry-scented Austrian red with
deep tarry edge to the nose. The palate is bright and a bit sappy with
some gravelly earthiness and nice tannin. Quite juicy and attractively
savoury. 88/100 (£8.99 Waitrose) 05/05
Emmerich Knoll Grüner Veltliner Loibner Schütt
Smaragd 2002 Wachau, Austria
Rich, full, melony nose with a lovely fresh, peppery
edge. Smooth, rich palate with nice melony fruit. It’s youthful and
fruity at the moment, and may well put on some complexity with further
age. 92/100 05/06
Gobelsburger
Riesling 2005 Kamptal, Austria
This is a really impressive Riesling from Schloss Gobelsburg. It has
a lovely crisp lemony nose which is nicely poised. The palate is
generous and nicely fruited with expressive lemony fruit and good acid.
Delicious. Very good+ 89/100 (£7.69 Waitrose) 04/06
Nikolaus
Moser Grüner Veltliner Gebling Vineyard 2003 Kremstal,
Austria
Initially
on opening there’s a blast of sulphur on the nose. This dies down to
reveal fresh, limey, spicy aromas. Fruity. The palate shows pretty,
bright peppery fruit with good acidity. A fresh style with good food
compatibility. A good introduction to Grüner Veltliner, but it does
lack real personality. Very good+ 88/100 (Marks & Spencer) 07/04
Schloss
Gobelsburg Grüner Veltliner Tradition 2001 Langenlois, Austria
I was very impressed by this GV, made in a traditional style that aims to
replicate the way the wine would have been made 100 years ago. Fresh,
crisp grassy nose leads to a fascinating palate that is rich textured
with amazing rich white pepper character and a rich texture. Striking
stuff and quite lovely. Had twice with consistet notes. Very
good/excellent 93/100 (£14.49 Noel Young Wines) 03/04
Bründlmayer
Riesling Zöbinger Heiligenstein 1997 Kamptal, Austria
Piercing
fresh limey nose with a delicate floral edge. The palate is crisp and
spicy – quite light but still fresh with good acidity. Delicious, dry
and spicy with good acidity. Very good/excellent 91/100 02/04
Martin
Estate Riesling Dornleiten 2003 Kremstal, Austria
A
wine made by Nigl for Marks & Spencer, who’ve recently listed a
few Austrian wines. Refined, taut, minerally nose with subtle lemony
fruit and a touch of sulphur. Quite fine. The palate is fresh, lemony
and crisp with good acidity. Not profound but nice enough and a
versatile food wine. Very good+ 88/100 (Marks & Spencer) 07/04
Nikolaus
Moser TBA Chardonnay 2002 Neusiedlersee, Austria
From
Sepp Moser, made for Marks and Spencer. Lovely rich nose: complex
botrytis character with spice, some apricot, honey and with a limey
edge. The palate is rich and sweet with lovely viscous peachy fruit and
good balancing acidity. Could do with perhaps a touch more acid? But it’s
still very fine. Very good/excellent 93/100 (Marks & Spencer) 07/04
Bründlmayer Zöbinger Heiligenstein Riesling
Trocken 1997 Kamptal, Langenlois, Austria
Lively citrussy nose with a slightly cheesy, minerally complexity.
The palate is intense and minerally; dry with lively acidity. Dry with a
herby edge – verging on the profound. Very good/excellent 03/03
Erich & Walter Polz Grassnitzberg Weissburgunder 1998
Südsteirmark, Austria
Classy stuff, still very much alone. Toasty, mealy nose with notes
of straw and herbs. The palate is creamy and nicely judged, with rounded
nutty fruit. Stylish and well balanced. Very good/excellent (originally
from Oddbins at £9.99) 91 04/03
Weingut Knoll Ried Loibner Loibenberg Riesling Federspiel
1999, Wachau, Austria
Relatively shy nose is minerally, taut and lemony. The tight,
mineralic palate shows high acidity. This is a fairly serious Riesling
but needs to open out: it’s a bit of a waste drinking it now. On the
second day it is spicier and more expressive with some grapefruit and
melon character emerging. Lovely weight on the palate. Very
good/excellent 12/01
Franz Prager Weissenkirchen Achleiten Smaragd Riesling 1999 Wachau
A top wine from one of Austria's leading producers. Gorgeous sweet,
rich, ripe nose with a touch of honey and some peachy, limey fruit.
Palate is rich and full, with touch of spice and good acidity. Overall,
it's a delicious aromatic dry white wine with good concentration and
nice balance. Very good/excellent 06/01
Heidler Grüner Veltliner Spiegel 2000, Kamptal, Austria
A pale yellow colour, this has a subtle, rounded lemony nose with a
touch of spice. The palate shows good balance, with a nice mineral
character and some lemony notes, together with a peppery edge. Good
extract and concentration. Pretty classy stuff, and will probably
improve with short term cellaring. Finishes dry and spicy. Very good+
(£8.95 Berry Bros & Rudd) 10/01
Heidler Grüner Veltliner Thal Novemberlese 2000, Kamptal, Austria
Lovely concentrated dry white wine: not rich textured, but with a
lovely mineral extract. The spicy nose has a sweet floral, aromatic
lift, with a touch of pepper. The palate is light and fresh, but with
great depth and concentration and a pronounced spicy character. There's
just a touch of residual sugar that adds roundness, but the wine
finishes quite dry. Distinctive stuff. Very good/excellent (£10.95)
11/01
Erich and Walter Polz Weissburgunder Grassnitzberg 1998
Südsteirmark, Austria
An attractive yellow gold colour, this Pinot Blanc has a knockout
nose of spice, toast and bready notes, with a creamy edge. The palate is
rich, full and honeyed with high acidity and a lovely spicy character.
This is a delicious wine with great balance and complexity. If you're a
fan of Alsace-style whites, you'll probably love this. Excellent (£7.99
Oddbins, currently reduced to £5.99) 07/01
Nikolaihof Steiner Hund Riesling Spätlese 1999, Wachau
Nikolaihof is a high-profile estate run along biodynamic lines, and this
wine is made from late-harvested grapes, and weighing in at 12.5%
alcohol. Very pale in colour, this has a fresh citrussy nose with a
smoky mineral edge. The palate is bright and spritzy, with lively, zingy
acidity. Quite light textured and finishes dry. A delicate wine, there
currently isn’t as much complexity as I was hoping for here; hopefully
this will come with time. I must admit that I was expecting more from
this well regarded producer. Very good (Price guide: Raeburn stock the
1997 version of this wine for £23) 4/01
Nikolaihof Riesling Vom Stein zu Mautern Smaragd 1999, Wachau
The Smaragd classification is the highest level, named after the
lizards that bask in the sun on the terraced vineyards, and the wine
from these ripe grapes has 12.5% alcohol. This has a fresh, fruity nose
with hints of smoke and minerals. It's fresh and spritzy on the palate,
and perhaps a bit grapey. Overall it's a little weightier than the
Spätlese, but still a light-textured wine, and it finishes dry. A
little bit simple at present? Very good (Price guide: Raeburn stock the
1998 for £22.) 4/01
Bründlmayer Riesling Zöbinger Heiligenstein 1999, Langenlois,
Kamptal
13% alcohol. Light, fresh, minerally/citrussy nose leading to a
full, concentrated palate with good complexity, firm acidity and a dry
finish. There's some limey Riesling character and although it's a touch
austere at the moment it should develop nicely. Very good+ (Price guide:
the 1997 vintage is £13 from Raeburn) 4/01
Bründlmayer Riesling Zöbinger Heiligenstein Alte Reben 1998,
Langenlois, Kamptal, Austria
A sensationally bold interpretation of Riesling. Pretty alcoholic at
14%, but not unbalanced. Beautifully enticing smoky, spicy nose (some
botrytis here?). The concentrated, rich palate shows complex notes of
lime, spice and honey, with a bone dry finish. Quite delicious.
Excellent (Bibendum £18) 4/01
Umathum Frauenkirchner St Laurent 1995 Bom Stein Neusiedler
See, Austria
(Umathum is the producer; St Laurent is the grape) An unusual red wine
from Austria, this is a light red/purple colour with a pungent, herby,
slightly medicinal nose. On the palate this is bone dry, quite acidic
and a little herbaceous, but with plenty of complexity and interest. It
may sound a bit odd from this description, but the overall effect is a
pleasurable one, honest! Very good+ 1/01
