Community Tasting Note

forceberry wrote:

Friday, March 4, 2022 - A blend of organically farmed Grüner Veltliner (75-70%) and Chardonnay (25-30%). Fermented spontaneously, aged in neutral oak barrels. Bottled with minimal SO2. 13% alcohol.

Rather youthful, medium-deep yellow-green color. Subtly reductive but otherwise clean nose with aromas of white peach, some fireworks smoke, a little bit of fresh pear, light waxy tones, a hint of fresh pineapple, a touch of sappy herbal spice and a toasty whiff of something that might be brioche or woody spice. The wine is ripe and quite concentrated yet surprisingly crisp and zippy at the same time with a medium body and bright, focused flavors of juicy white peach, some cantaloupe, a little bit of perhaps bretty funk, light lifted notes of citrus rind, a hint of tangy salinity and a touch of bright stony minerality. There seems to be a tiny bit of VA that doesn't really taste - it just gives the fruit a nice lifting touch. The high acidity lends great intensity and sense of structure to the wine. The finish is dry and zesty quite quite long flavors of white peach, some phenolic spice, a little bit of waxy funk, light stony mineral nuances, a bretty hint of leather and a touch of lifted VA.

A very nice, fresh and focused Austrian white that seems to be evolving in the right direction - at least when comparing this note to my earlier one from July 2020. Back then the wine was somewhat more closed and neutral in character, more dominated by reduction. Now, 1½ years later, the reduction has subsided to some degree (not entirely) and some subtly funky tones have emerged in its place. However, the wine doesn't feel natty or sauvage in any way and the wild nuances don't jump at you - instead they just lurk there in the background and they might help you guessing the wine is made in a rather hands-off way, if you were tasting the wine blind or didn't know the producer. All in all, a great wine - especially for a white from a producer known for his Blaufränkisch reds - and most likely going to improve for years more. Drink now or keep. At the local retail price (31,37€) this feels a bit expensive for the quality, but at the price you can see this elsewhere (18,90€) this really delivers.

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