Oak Barrel - Austrian Wine Tasting

Austrian tasting (with some Germans thrown in for good measure) to show what is currently available at the Oak Barrel.

3 Wachau, 1 Kamptal

• 2008 Franz Hirtzberger Grüner Veltliner Steinfeder Donaugarten

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Colour: lemon green, rim face, medium minus intensity
  Nose: Slight citrus over orchard fruit, muted; medium minus intensity, slight peach, floral
  Mouth: tart, citrus, slight lees, no tannin, medium minus acid. A little short

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• 2009 Freie Weingärtner Wachau / Domäne Wachau Grüner Veltliner Terrassen Federspiel

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Colour: Lemon Green,
  Nose: Citrus, grapefruit, white pepper, floral and fruity
  Mouth: Citrus, grassy, medium plus acid, some spice, good length. Minerality.
  Very nice.

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• 2009 Weingut Knoll Grüner Veltliner Federspiel Loibner

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Colour: Lemon green,
  Nose: slight apricot, very muted nose, tiny grapefruit over spice
  Mouth: Medium plus acid, citrus, almost peach/stone fruit. Floral. Some skin, tannin/oak (?) Very, very smooth.
  Lovely

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• 2008 Weingut Willi Bründlmayer Grüner Veltliner Loiser Berg

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Kamptal

  Colour: Lemon green, rim fade
  Nose: Peach. slight spice - focusing on clove - white pepper, slight smokiness, pine/lanolin.
  Mouth: White pepper, medium acid, spice over fruit, skin tannin.
  Very nice.

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One Austrian and four Germans

• 2008 Weingut Knoll Riesling Federspiel Loibner

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Colour: Lemon green, medium minus intensity
  Nose: Slight lime, mineral, floral notes
  Mouth: Tart, green lees, medium acid. Long and subdued, balanced BUT a little simple and dies rapidly on the finish.

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• 2009 Dönnhoff Schloßböckelheimer Felsenberg Riesling trocken

  Germany, Nahe

  Colour: Lemon, medium minus intensity
  Nose: Perfumed/floral, slight funk, green apple
  Mouth: Spice, medium plus acid, ginger, lime and apple - perhaps some skin time, some tannin (low) on the front of the mouth.
  Simple but nice.

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• 2008 Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein Riesling Schieferterrassen

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Colour: Lemon, medium minus intensity
  Nose: Mineral, lime, slate, toast. Minor kerosene/funk. Slight honey
  Mouth: Medium plus acid, lees, pettilance, skin tannin, little acrid on the finish. Mineral.

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• 2004 Georg Breuer Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling

  Germany, Rheingau

  Colour: Gold, medium minus intensity, tearing
  Nose: lime, funk, honey, vegetal/floral nose, spice, biscuit, some cream
  Mouth: Honey, lime and passion fruit, lees in the mouth. Medium plus to high acid, mineral.

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• 2008 Wittmann Westhofener Morstein Riesling Großes Gewächs

  Germany, Rheinhessen

  Colour: Lemon,
  Nose: Mineral, lime, citrus, slight toast
  Mouth: Medium plus acid, dry/grippy. Slight lime and citrus, mineral and slight spice.
  Not for me.

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All from Burgenland

• 2009 Brigitte & Gerhard Pittnauer St. Laurent Dorflagen

  Austria, Burgenland, Neusiedlersee

  Colour: purple/ruby rim, medium intensity
  Nose: Spice, green peppercorn, red fruit - cherry(?) Slight jamminess, strawberry(?), earthy
  Mouth: Spice, smoke, medium minus acid, medium tannin, red fruit...not much finish

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• 2007 Brigitte & Gerhard Pittnauer Blaufränkisch Klassik

  Austria, Burgenland, Neusiedlersee

  Colour: Medium minus intensity, ruby with rim fade
  Nose: Funky, sweaty, slight pepper and meat over red fruit.
  Mouth: Medium plus talcy tannin, medium acid, spice, black fruit. Gentle alcoholic heat on the finish.
  A little bit simple and bland.

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• 2007 Moric Blaufränkisch

  Austria, Burgenland

  Colour: Ruby, rim fade, legs
  Nose: Cream, spice, toast and anchovy(!?!), oak, perfumed and floral, meat, red and black cherry
  Mouth: Medium tannin and acid, cherry and spice. Long finish with talcy tannin.

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The tasting was hosted by a nice chap whose only flaw was that he was a complete Riesling fascist. I like Riesling as much as the next chap (or chapess) but I do get rather sick of people going on and on and on about it being the best grape varietal in the world and the only one that exhibits terroir and typicity...Yawn.
As regards the wines themselves, I did enjoy three of the Gruners and one of the Rieslings. The reds were nice but a little one dimensional.