Austria

A small sampling that nonetheless showed the range of styles within Austrian winemaking. It was Brundlmayer's pure seriousness that won me over. The reds were for the most part less convincing, while Kracher's TBA was mindboggling.

• 2006 Tement Sauvignon Blanc Steirische Klassik 87 Points

  Austria, Styria

  Teetering balance between ripe and green fruit, although there's no well-defined grassiness here. Bright through and through, with a little extract lending strength to the finish.

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• 2006 Loimer Grüner Veltliner 87 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Kamptal

  Salty on both the nose and palate, with nice lively pear notes and good length.

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• 2005 Schloss Gobelsburg Grüner Veltliner Steinsetz 88 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Kamptal

  Rather tight on this showing, with some lemony suggestion. Leesy richness is the dominant palate impression here. Could be better with time.

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• 2004 Weingut Willi Bründlmayer Grüner Veltliner Alte Reben Kamptal 92 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Kamptal

  Highly expressive, showing dough, filberts, and oustanding minerality. Intense palate presence full of caraway and pleasant stemminess.

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• 2005 Schmelz Grüner Veltliner Loibner Gärten 84 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Very fresh, with rather ethereal fruit, but lacks any sort of finish.

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• 2004 Familie Bäuerl-Loiben Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Loibenberg 83 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Smoky! Monolithic, with both modest flesh and disappointing softness.

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• 2005 F.X. Pichler Grüner Veltliner Federspiel Ried Frauenweingärten 89 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Very ripe, even sweet nose doesn't quite go over the top. Manages to be simultaneously mouthfilling and steely-light, with sneaky length.

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• 2005 F.X. Pichler Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Loibner Berg 87 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Spicy-soily low tones here, curiously like a rustic peppery red wine. Broad, with grapefruit, quince, and abundant richness. Off-bottle?

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• 2004 Summerer Riesling Vom Urgestein 86 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Kamptal

  Low-toned yet nicely mineral; a lean style with backbone.

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• 2005 Weingut Stadt Krems Riesling Grillenparz 88 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Kremstal

  Lots of prettiness in the form of melon/peach/pink grapefruit and flowers. Lush and even a little heavy, with the RS intruding somewhat. Excellent in its style, but that's not a style I seek.

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• 2005 Weingut Willi Bründlmayer Riesling Zöbinger Heiligenstein 91 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Kamptal

  Serious, stately mineral and red fruit. Powerfully mineral flavors actually cover up the considerable acidity. This Riesling means business.

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• 2005 Nigl Riesling Kremser Kremsleiten 90 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Kremstal

  Captivating, elegant yet seductive fruit and fine-grained minerality. Succulent, but then kicks you with a steel-toed boot of extract at the end.

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• 2005 Schmelz Riesling Federspiel Wachauer Weingebirge 82 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Can't get past the overhwelming earthy aromas that shouts down any more attractive features this may have. Better on the palate, with impressive acid spine, but it's a shame about the nose - another off bottle?

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• 2005 Alzinger Riesling Smaragd Dürnsteiner Liebenberg 90 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Here the earth tones are balanced by some very primary-grapy fruit and subtler mineral. Great density and acidity, with flavors suggestive of dried vegetable matter.

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• 2003 Weingut Josef Pöckl Zweigelt 87 Points

  Austria, Burgenland

  Dull medium garnet. The highest quality sweet cigar tobacco, with bread and ripe red fruit; an incredible nose for such a modest wine. But quite ordinary in the mouth, dry yet broad, and rather bereft of energy.

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• 2006 Gerhard Markowitsch Zweigelt Carnuntum Cuvée 81 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Carnuntum

  Bright violet. Industrial nose of fake fruit and just a smidgen of redeeming minerality. Generic fruity flavors, but this is decently structured in an unrefined way - "unrefined" is definitely a complimentary word for this otherwise clearly industrial wine.

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• 2005 Moric Blaufränkisch Neckenmarkter 85 Points

  Austria, Burgenland

  Slightly dulled reddish violet. Smoke, graphite, and subtle vegetal suggestions on the easygoing nose. More restrained flavors, but nice elegance of texture and substantial acidity, with a so-so finish.

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• 2004 Birgit Braunstein St. Laurent Goldberg 89 Points

  Austria, Burgenland, Neusiedlersee-Hügelland

  Extremely dark red violet. Here's that smoke and graphite again, with slightly high tonality and subtly apparent oak. Attractively balanced, finishing impressively.

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• 2005 Alois Kracher Cuvée Beerenauslese 89 Points

  Austria, Burgenland, Neusiedlersee

  I can hardly sense any botrytis here, but there is a sweatiness that mars the otherwise lovely caramel apple and petrol aromatics. The sweetness is held in check (and in proper balance) until the finish, which is ever so slightly sugary.

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• 2004 Alois Kracher Chardonnay TBA #9 Nouvelle Vague 96 Points

  Austria, Burgenland, Neusiedlersee

  Full of exoticism, with the oak so well integrated. This is seductive yet uplifiting; complex and full of nuance yet offering a very pure expression of honey all the same. Just stunning on the palate, with an unimagineable tension between sugar (275 g/L? that too is unbelievable!) and acid.

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