2004 Vintage of Weingut Alzinger (Austria)

My wife and I visited the Wachau valley last month and visited a few estates. This was not one of the estates we were planning to visit. However, at each estate we visited, I asked if there were any other estates that they would recommend. The answers I got from Emmerich Knoll (Weingut Knoll), Lucas Pichler (FX Pichler) and at Franz Hirtzberger were all the same- visit Alzinger. So we did.

Unfortunately, when we arrived in the town of Unterloiben in the late afternoon, the doors were locked and there was no answer at the door. The Alzinger winery is located next door to Knoll went there to try wines. Knoll asked us to come back in 15 minutes. When I inquired if Alzinger was open, Emmerich Knoll turned around and yelled "ALZINGER!", whereupon Leo Alzinger the younger appeared and took us to his winery. It turns out that we interupted a happy hour that a few of the local winemakers were having.

Wiengut Alzinger has been in business for 6 years. It is run by a Father and Son team (both named Leo Alzinger). We tasted wines with the Son. The tasting room is very modern and stands in stark contrast to most other Wachau producers. The wines are imported by Terry Theise. Overall the wines showed less depth than the other top estates we visited and they were much leaner as well.

All of the wines were very young and will need time (especially the Smaragd level wines). Here are my notes:

• 2004 Alzinger Grüner Veltliner Federspiel Loibner Hochstrasser 86 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  A simple wine. Very clean with elegant notes of green apple and mango. Dry. 86 points.

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• 2004 Alzinger Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Steinertal 90 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  This shows much more complexity than the federspiel. Low in acidity for a Gruve due to the 2004 vintage conditions. Coconut and tropical fruit notes interspersed with a good minerality. I liked this better than the WA who recently rated this 88 points. 90 points for me.

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• 2004 Alzinger Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Ried Mühlpoint 88 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Another wine recently rated by the WA at 88 points. The Muhlpoint vineyard is located under the Steinertal vineyard. This also showed low acidity. Notes of ripe banana and creamy papaya and guava. A little too lean for me. 87-88 points.

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• 2004 Alzinger Riesling Federspiel Dürnsteiner 84 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  This is a blend of different vineyards from around the town of Durnstein. Ussually the grapes are picked in the first pass through the vineyard. This wine started out rather simply but developed some pleasant tropical notes on the finish. Light bodied. 84-85 points.

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• 2004 Alzinger Riesling Smaragd Loibenberg 89 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  This is a single vineyard wine. This too started out slow but unlike the Durnsteiner picked up considerable heft on the midpalate. Lean with considerable minerality. Notes of slate and cider. WA gave this 87+ points. 89-90 points for me.

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• 2004 Alzinger Riesling Smaragd Steinertal 91 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Alzinger considers this his best vineyard. I thought everything was stepped up a little in this wine. razor sharp acidity. Pure with a bite. This shows the best minerality of any of his wines. Notes of apple and pear. Medium to long finish. I liked this better than the WA who gave it 87 points. 91 points for me.

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