Gruner Veltliner Tasting (7 wines)

On the second night of our visit with some friends in Michigan, we decided to arrange a dinner around Gruner Veltliner. The idea came from a Decanter article describing the 2 general styles of the wines made in Austria (baroque grown in a loess soil v. a cleaner and leaner style grown in rocky soil). We started with a cheddar potato soup topped with crumbled bacon. For the main course my wife brined some thick cut pork chops in apple juice, vinegar and ginger overnight (I may be missing a few ingredients) and then we grilled them and topped them with a warm homemade apple/leak/ginger chutney. Our side dish was hash brown cooked in duck fat and thyme and sprinkled with fresh parsley. We also grilled some home grown zucchini. We finished the meal with a cheese course.

Gruner is the most widely planted grape in Austria and is renowned for being extremely food friendly. Often paired with difficult to match foods. These wines can be long lived but do not evolve and develop like Riesling. many of the wines we poured did not fit neatly into the 2 styles and there was some overlap. Here are my notes:

• 2004 Schloss Gobelsburg Grüner Veltliner Reserve Lamm 89 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Kamptal

  Schloss Gobelsburg was an underpreforming Kamptal estate for many years. It was originally planted by the monks of Zwettl. A little less than 10 years ago, Willi Brundelmayer encouraged a 30 year old wine enthusiast, Michael Moosbrugger, to buy this historic estate and with Brundelmayers help started turning this property around. Moosbrugger has now been on his own for the last 5+ years and the results are impressive. WS recently listed this estate as one of "The 50 Most Important Wineries" every wine lover should know. This is made in a baroque style. Thicker than the other GV's. It had a creamy texture with lemon lime notes and pepper on the finish. 2nd time I have had this and I liked the prior bottle slightly better. 89 points.

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• 1992 Kirchmayr Grüner Veltliner Solist Stangl 88 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Kamptal

  This was the oldest wine in the GruVe lineup and was still drinking very well at 18 years old. It tasted younger than the 1997 Jamek. Some metallic notes with apple and rhubarb mixed in. Medium bodied. 88 points.

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• 2002 Franz Hirtzberger Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Axpoint 92 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Tied for my favorite wine of the tasting. Axpoint is a relatively flat vineyard behind the Hitzberger family home. It has richer soil than the terraced vineyards and as a result can be counted on to produce a plumper wine. Pale straw yellow color. Filled with mineral and wet stone character. Notes of beeswax, pear and white pepper in this full bodied wine. Tingly finish. 92 points.

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• 2005 Weingut Knoll Grüner Veltliner Federspiel Ried Kreutles Loibner 86 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  This was the only federspiel wine in our tasting. The other bottles being smaragd level ripeness. I have had this wine a few times with consistent notes. Dark green/yellow color. This had a little fat to it. White fruit notes with a lean finish. Not as deep as the other gruve's. Still a pleasing wine. 86-87 points.

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• 1997 Weingut Josef Jamek Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Ried Schreiberberg 82 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  My last bottle of this wine. Opened it over the weekend as part of a GruVe tasting. I do not think that this estate makes wine from the Schreiberberg vineyard anymore. 1997 was supposedly a fantastic vintage in Austria. I bought a few years ago for $15 per bottle. This wine has been hit or miss over the years and this one was a miss for me. The cork crumbled and as a result we splash decanted the wine to remove excess cork. Medium yellow color. Jamek makes wines in a hedonistic/lush style. The nose was very nice with tropical nuances. Primarily pineapple at first but then some mustiness appeared. This had lower acidity and came off as flat with low fruit. This bottle was over the hill. Still drinkable. 82 points

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• 2002 Freie Weingärtner Wachau / Domäne Wachau Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Achleiten 91 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  This was the only wine made by a cooperative in our GruVe tasting. About the 3rd time I have had this wine and it showed very well in the lineup. Generally, I think that it was the 3rd favorite among the group. Wines from the acheliten vineyard are normally more elegant and pure in style. This was no exception. This had an oily nose but not petrol. More like mineral oil. Aged GruVe does not get petrolly notes. Notes of tart citrus and lemongrass with good minerality. Soft but long finish. 91 points.

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• 2002 F.X. Pichler Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Ried Kellerberg 92 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  This was the 3rd GruVe from the 2002 that we opened at our tasting. Not planned. Just happened that way. One of Pichler's top wines. Only his "M" and "Unendlich" Gruve's have better reputations. Tied for my favorite wine in the lineup. Pale yellow color. This had the typical white pepper notes that you would expect in a Kellerberg. I also noted some pineapple, tea and some chamomile. There was a touch of sweetness here. Full bodied. This was not as good as the 2004 FX Pichler Kellerberg that I had a year or two ago. 92 points

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