This dinner took place the night after the picking crew harvested the Lowburn Vineyard for Auburn’s 2010 Lowburn Riesling. Once again, we didn’t mess around at the start. 09 Felton Road Riesling: Sex in a glass as usual. This seems drier than previous releases, via stronger acids, even though the residual sugar is still over 50 grams. Intense and in the groove. This went down so fast no one really paid too much attention, and I didn’t get to take much of a note. 07 Comte de Vogue Bourgogne Blanc: Opens a little funky and oxidative for the briefest of moments and then locks up tight. Coiled power underneath, so we leave this for some time to return to. Lanolin, lemon, perhaps some other citrus. Maloed and rounder acids, but doesn’t seem to have seen much oak if at all. (The next morning we looked at the leftovers again, and it was still locked up tight! NV Veuve Clicquot: Citrus, bread, some aged material showing, and truffley strawberry notes – red fruits? Good persistence and well structured. I know its big house NV, and I know its not fashionable in some circles, but this is quite tasty. Blind wine no 1: Golden colour. Texturally this is lithe but still slightly curvy in its new world shape, not a fleet footed german. It is off dry, and has some vanilla and limey citrus qualities, great length. To me this is a Kiwi and quite an old one. Turns out to be an 01 Johanneshof Riesling – I would have guessed older than that. (I’m learning that NZ Rieslings age differently to Aussie Rieslings, and so far I’m interpreting that as overadvancement). ??? Sparkling Vouvray: Yes I missed the name completely. Very quiet muted nose. Palate, is apple cider, vanilla, pear, very vibrant mousse, Simple & fresh fruited with some touches of funk – which is a bit dirt like and shows some aldehydic quality, and a similar taste to the brown rot we saw today. Let down by being a bit short. I think others in the crowd liked this a lot more than me. Then we looked at two Gruner Veltliners, a grape I know little about. 07 Domaine Wachau Gruner Veltliner Fiederspiel Terrassen: Tropical fruit nose. The palate starts out that way but goes quite dry quite quickly, with a saline like quality. Also shows some light leafy elements. Juicy acids make this quite attractive. 07 Weingut Knoll Loibner Gruner Veltliner Fiederspiel: More elegant nose, with white pepper tones showing. Palate is richer and rounder here and seems to have something phenolic added, oak treatment or malo? Still in the tropical pear spectrum, and a trace of heat on the finish. Most liked this wine ahead of the Wachau.
This pair was a great education. This is a grape I think I could come to terms with. When I’m not drinking wines like the next beauty, which was the…
05 Donnhoff Oberhauser Liestenberg Kabinett: You know, I’m getting to the point I reckon I cold pick the O L Kabinett blind. Any vintage. Its such a joyous drink, year in year out, and this wine proves it can take a few years of ageing too. It is starting to show some aged characters with its lovely vineyard character – lemon, lime, creaming soda. its fresh and alive, juicy and just lovely. A lingering tingly sweetness balanced by perfect acids.
(Did I mention I’m visitng the Donnhoff cellar door in July?)
04 Felton Road Block 6 Chardonnay (en Magnum): A barrel ferment nose – oysters. I always visit aged chard with trepidation but this is really interesting – mushroomy oysters, cumquat, orange cashew. Great length. Respect. 06 Moss Wood Pinot Noir: Softly structured with fine tannins. Warm, indistinct fruits. Medium length. I didn’t enjoy this as much as the next wine which was… 05 Pirie Sigma Pinot Noir: But by now its 1.30am, and my note taking capabilities are gone. Form a reat Tasmanian vintage, all I can remember is liking this quite a lot,and being pissed in the morning that I didn’t manage to stay awake another half hour…but I’m told the poker and scotch started again, and we had another vineyard to pick in the morning…
Perhaps a testament to the quality of these wines is the list of what we didnt drink:
05 Trapiche Malbec
01 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey Chambertin 1er Clos St Jacques
99 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Auslese Goldkapsel
07 Andreas Schmitges Beerenauslese
But they are tucked up safe and sound for next year…
7 May 2010 will go down as an auspicious day. It was the day of the harvest dinner prior to the picking of the 2010 Auburn Wines vintage. Well, it was more than a dinner, I’ll describe the events of 7 May 2010 and all that transpired.
The day starts somewhere around 10am with breakfast – the protagonists at this point of the day are Max, Nick, Ryan and yours truly. Bacon, egg venison salami pizza (on a white pizza base fried off onion and garlic, mixed with ricotta and olive oil and made into a paste). Delicious, I’m going to try and make these. But even now we are thinking about wine, so to wash down breakfast:
Felton Road Block 1 Riesling 2009: Perfect. A ridiculous indulgence which is absolutely what is called for. Max and Nick have days off, Nick has just driven 8 hours to get here, and Ryan and I are well and truly on holidays. We want nothing but the best. Creaming soda, green herbs, lemons, white peach. Floral and juicy, the acids take a while to kick in and clean this up. Long delicate finish. Disappeared all too quickly, and alas no longer available even to those on Felton Road’s block list. We’re still thirsty so…
Dr Loosen Urziger Wurzgarten Spatlese 2006: I don’t like what Ernie Loosen does with his Wurzgarten wines. Or at least I haven’t until now. More golden colour than the Felton Road, showing its few years of bottle age. White peach, lime, lanolin and petrol notes on nose. The palate is immediately lifted - white flowers and lemons and also a deeper limey orange and cumquat richness reflecting the vintage. Great persistence and length and a lightness that can only be Germany. Lovely, although Nick who provided the bottle says this has been better in earlier bottles. With time, this also picks up a distinct passionfruit flavour.
Interlude 1: Golf. Well we walked around a golf course and waved clubs about at little white balls, but that’s about as far as the resemblance goes. Apart from Ryan who birdied the 8th hole.
And then a stand up interlude at an end of vintage gathering at one of the local Central Otago wineries:
Speights: I used to like Speights. Now I think it is somehow New Zealand’s punishment for not having Fosters. Quartz Reef Chauvet: Soft, creamy red fruit dominant. A crowd pleaser. Quartz Reef Bendigo Pinot (magnum): Colour and nose are aged, palate more interesting – has some lovely aged fruit and soy sauce elements.
And then home for harvest dinner no 1. I think everyone knows this is going to go for a while… we are still demanding the best so start with something spectacular.
JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Riesling 1995: This bottle was lucky to escape being turned into contraband for the golf course. Hot damn - this is fresh as a daisy and still wearing its sulphur! Lovely balance of filigreed lemony and delicate white peach and other citrus fruits, still a good dose of sulphur. Great length, lovely sugar acid balance, light on its feet for this pradikat level, perhaps reflecting the way things were done 15 years ago. Very Nice wine indeed, and a great way to kick off the evening part of the proceedings!
Schoffitt Pinot Blanc “Auxerrois” 2007 Vielles Vignes (Alsace): Smells of lanolin, quince nectarine. The immediate mouthfeel is textural, perhaps showing the step up in alcohol level from the Prum and earlier wines. The from palate is limes, mandarins and a super ripe orange pith character, heading to marmalade in texture and ripeness. Finish has a trace of lemon in it. Other people are finding all sorts of tropical fruits in this – paw paw, mango, etc. A very nice wine. I’m learning to like Pinot Blanc, I’ve now had a few that I quite like.
Lucien Albrecht Riesling 2006: 11.75% ABV. Delicate little flower – hard to coax a lot from this. Some citrus, perhaps some grapefruit? Texturally OK, ripe, solid acids, but needs more fruit weight.
Blind wine no 1: A glass stopper in a burgundy bottle throws everyone – who uses that combination?? Pear, quince, grapefruit, peach, nut and vanilla pod smells. Really interesting and complex. A funky sweaty attack on the front palate. Gingery, musky spice. Apricot, pear, cumquat. This is sooooo a new world viognier. I don’t think it has seen a lot of wood and don’t think it’s that old, and I would guess Aus if forced. Don’t know whose this is though. Revealed as an absolute balltearer ptions wine – the 08 Cristom Viognier. Who knew?
Blind wine no 2: Well this is a pinot. And a young one. Chewy gummy fruit based nose with pepper spice nose. Palate is bursting with juicy fruit and some earthiness. And it is dense in weight and flavour. Not great length or complexity (perhaps yet). It’s the 08 Te Whare Ra Pinot Noir from Marlborough. Great to try this after being soaked in Central Otago pinto for a few days now.
Then an interlude without blindness and guessing - 08 Te Whare Ra Syrah: Cherry, purple jubes, black pepper nose. Aaah, tannin! V young and primary and sweet, musk sticks and plums, redskins, juicy berries. Dense and mouthcoating and primary. Doesnt show the spice that the nose hints at – a slight disappointment. Great persistence though. This is off 5 to 8 year old vines, and shows Marlborough is good for a whole lot more than Sauvignon Blanc.
Blind Red wine no 2: This has a feral pongy pooey nose. The palate is really savoury, although it wallows into the dirty bum spectrum (did I really think that?), over some black fruits, graphite and roast meats. But gentle tannins. Perhaps some bottle age but varietal unknown – Mourvedre? Older Grenache? Or something Spanish? Or one of the Italians like montelpulciano? Nooo, its Max being an evil bugger again. Its an American Syrah – an 05 HDV Syrah – Los Carneros. 14.3% ABV.
More Syrah, this time Australian. 01 Castagna Genesis Syrah: White pepper over small berries & beetroot, and a touch of something animale – roast meats, forest floor etc. (Max: some EA) Ooh love this structure. Long fruit flavours, strong fine boned tannin that goes on for some time. Shows its bottle age with a touch of leather, blueberry. Even a touch of orange berocca. Incredible length here.
A blind dessert wine: This time my evil little options wine. A volatile little beast . Vanilla, grapefruit and according to someone in the crowd “sexual orange”, whatever that is. Powdery in a sense that says this is slightly past it. Dense and long. Tiring a little and not as sweet as more modern cuvees. Loaded with tartrate crystals at the bottom of this little bttle. This is great to try nonetheless as it’s a wine no one gets to drink a lot of - Von Othegraven Kanzamer Altenberg Trockenbeerenauslese 1976.
And then poker until 3am, where we bet fingers toes and testicles as no one was awake enough or sober enough to find the chips. As a result, the next morning sees two of us with very deep voices, two without, and a few vicious hangovers…
Harvest dinner no 2 to come…
A single vineyard wine from the Fletcher Vineyard on the Wairau Plains in the heart of Marlborough. At 9% alc, it’s an off-dry style from a vintage that suffered from poor flowering followed by an ideal late summer and autumn, resulting in bunches with low berry numbers of intense concentration.
It has the quintessential NZ Riesling nose; pure citrus spectrum fruit, hints of minerality, blossoms and a crumb of toast alluding to its age. Fresh out of the bottle, the acidity was green apple tangy, almost to the extent of overpowering the sugars, but three glasses on into the afternoon, the wine had really evolved to the point of ultimate balance (perhaps helped by a slightly warmer serving temperature).
Lots of ripe tangelo and orange on the palate, with that vein of acidity cutting into the sweetness and leaving a crisp, fresh finish with fruit sweetness rather than sugar sweetness. With a persistent, slightly astringent finish (in a good way), it’s a class wine that would effortlessly push another decade on the wine rack.
Sublime with breakfast burritos, but even better with mussels in chilli and garlic vinegar.
I’m off to Germany in 5 weeks, and I’m staying at the Schmitges winery for 3 days. Better get through some of his wines then!
We sipped this wine with fish, chips and salad over dinner. Medium Dry? Its just off dry. It takes some for this delicate little flower to open. The sugars seem to be in that just off dry 5 to 20g/l range. It was a revelation with the salad, where the vinegars helped the wine’s sweetness show.
Nosing the last glass from the bottle, some coaxing gives you apple blossom, lemon, lime, crunchy blackberry. The palate is delicate and crystalline at first, but the mid palate shows its spatlese must weight. Lime zest, lemon oil, and some deeper set citrus, almost like its been touched by botrytis too in the form of orange marmalade.
This is what it is - somewhere between Kabinett and bone dry. its tasty, goes well with food and ticks all the boxes.
Worth a look if this is your preferred style,
cheers
Andrew
Hello all,
This is my first post on Vinoculation. Thank you to Max for inviting me to contribute. I thought the best way to start was with a tasting note on the grape variety I love - Riesling.
I picked this bottle up back in 2008 after an instore tasting. I quite liked the whole Muddy Water range, and acquired some to cellar for a while. And the funny thing is I’ve never seen them again at my local retail.
The statistics on the back label will tell you this is an Alsatian Vendage Tardive style - 13% ABV, 56g/l residual sugar, only botrytis affected bunches. Against a backdrop of of dry riesling from Germany and New Zealand, that’s a pretty ripe wine! It smells of orange marmalade and apricots, and has a real lift about it. There’s the unmistakeable dried apricot and spice of botrytis as well, along with some lanolin and lime. The palate is a rich, viscous textural delight. Dried apricots and ginger initially then some classic lemons and limes. The back palate is where the 13% alcohol shows in the form of some volatility and a touch of varnish. The acids are just right and wrap up the whole package nicely into a great wine for spicy food. Its rich, its spicy, its full of flavour. If I had just one wish, it would be for 11% alcohol rather than 13….
Valentines Day 2010, and what better way to enjoy it than a picnic assortment alongside the Kawarau River with a bottle of 2007 Felton Road Block 3 Pinot.
This wine reminded me of my first introduction to Pinot – and indeed Felton Road Pinot – some seven or eight years ago. I had long abstained from Pinot Noir, the red variety that I just wasn’t bourgeois enough to understand, but I gradually began to appreciate what this wine was all about. Delicate. Elegant. Complex. Perfumed. These were descriptors that I came to associate with Pinot Noir and that I continue to look for in this intriguing variety.
Is this the best, if not one of the best Pinot Noirs from New Zealand? Yes.
On opening – and I mean within two seconds of the screwcap having been cracked – I drowned my nose in heady perfume and in that opening minute, it’s quite delightful to follow the journey of the wine’s evolution as it sees oxygen and aeration for the first time since it was bottled; an exercise I’d recommend to all. Initially restrained and muted, but then blooming like an opening flower as waves of aromas begin to take shape.
Everything you’d expect from great Pinot is there – the concentrated berry/cherry fruit, a hint of sappiness, forest floor, herbs, spice and floral perfume – characters you might associate with any old Pinot, but somehow they recombine with x-factor and a fingerprint of place that tells you yes, this is amazing; awakening your senses and leaving you in a reverie where you really have to think to draw your nose away from the glass.
It’s a joyous wine to drink. The hallmarks of Central Otago are here, but the hallmarks that put the region on the map a decade ago, rather than the criticisms by pundits who have almost tended to mock the wines over the past couple years. Clean, juicy fruit, textural generosity (and I’m not talking ballsy Australian Shiraz textural generosity – just enough that maintains typicity without erring on thin territory), assertive aromatics and a long finish abundant with ripe, silky tannins.
As I’ve said before, winemaker Blair Walter’s hand in the winery becomes conspicuous through his absence of intervention, the wine a seamless marriage of fruit and oak that speaks volumes of viticulturist Gareth King’s tireless efforts in the vineyard. Kiwis are fast jumping on the tall poppy syndrome, following suit of their Australian neighbours under the illusion that it’s somehow trendy to criticise and cut down their most exalted wineries, but I’m here to say that these wines have never let me down, they continue to surprise, and I’m very, very happy to have a modest collection to enjoy in future years.
Tasting Notes:
2009 Esk Valley Verdelho
Fruity nose of limes, grapefruit and tangelo with a hint of bell pepper. Medium bodied with a subtle texture, the palate of white peach and grapefruit is augmented by a zingy, juicy acidity, finishing fresh and dry. A thirst quencher, perfect for summer days, perfect for seafood.
2009 Coopers Creek The Groover Gruner Veltliner
Honeysuckle, ripe peach, white pepper, mandarin. Medium bodied, the palate is spicy, laden with stonefruit and a soft, gentle backbone of acidity frames the silken texture. Finishes dry and refreshing like a breathmint, with considerable length. Better than the ’08.
2008 Coopers Creek The Groover Gruner Veltliner
Honeysuckle, apricot, grapefruit, spice. Rich, medium to full bodied, broad palate, but blowsy and lacking focus. Hint of mint? Delicate fruit profile on palate. Weighty, slightly oily texture. Interesting for sure, and an introduction to the variety.
2008 Coopers Creek Little Rascal Arneis
Aromatic and complex; crushed sea shells, roast almonds, custard-apple, tangerine. Medium to full bodied, rich, lots of weight and tropical fruit flavours on the palate. Somehow it’s all restrained though and doesn’t become overbearing. Finishes long and dry.
2007 Coopers Creek Little Rascal Arneis
Very pale straw with a green tinge. Apricot kernel, pineapple, feijoa, mineral. It’s a beautifully balanced, gently textural and interesting wine. Lots of peachy flavours on the palate, with a streak of melon and nuttiness. Medium to full bodied, there is a delicacy to the wine that prevents it from being too rich or overbearing. Broad and augmented by a foundation of texture that resembles gossamer tannin, the acidity is present only in the guise of juicy fruit. Finishes with fruit power and impact. A real surprise and a really classy wine – well done Coopers Creek.
2008 Dancing Water Tahou Scheurebe The colour is a vibrant yellow, light-golden hue. The nose displays aromas of peach blossom, papaya, musk, honey and grapefruit. Supremely exotic, complex and delicious with a wonderful combination of fruit, floral perfume and sweetness. Made in an off-dry style, the wine is considerably textural and rich with a generous mouthfeel and layers of bright, tropical fruit. There are also hints of dried fig and apricot. A quirky Asian spice herbaceousness only adds to the wine’s individuality. With just enough acid to carry the finish, it’s a luxurious wine best enjoyed in its youth. Great as an aperitif, but a perfect match for any Asian dish with strong, authentic flavours (incredible with ginger prawns).
2007 Trinity Hill Tempranillo
Black cherry, black raspberry, star anise and a hint of toasty oak. Fruity, spicy, but also perfumed and floral. The palate is seamless, with layer upon layer of dark berry fruit, restrained by a dry structure of dusty, chewy tannins and youthful acidity. Screams out for dead animal or a banquet of carne tapas.
2008 Trinity Hill Tempranillo
Less of the unbridled black cherry power of the 2007, the 2008 is spicier, with notes of white pepper, mocha, raspberry and strawberry. Very primary on the palate; the wine a sum of parts waiting to integrate. Cherry/berry fruit, round, polished texture, a fine backbone of acidity and gently persistent tannins. A different beast to the ’07; more approachable and friendlier, the ’07 brawnier with more intensity.
2008 Herzog Zweigelt
Youthful crimson, burgundy colour tending purple when pouring. An arresting nose of black cherries, spices, flowers, raspberry. Highly perfumed. Medium bodied, it’s not that different to a nicely structured pinot, with perhaps more of a grainy texture. The winemaking is first rate; polished and seamless in the mouth, with an abundance of cherry fruit on the palate. Finishes with heightened cherry juiciness and long, ripe tannins. Lovely wine.
2004 Marsden Chambourcin
Interesting nose with a combination of primary berry fruit characters and age; mulberry, spiced plums, leather and chocolate raisins. The back label recommends a drinking window of 2-5 years and now, five (almost six) years on, there is still gas left in the tank. The structure of the wine is underpinned by a backbone of complementary acidity, with considerable fruit concentration and richness on the palate. It’s made in a rustic style; the mouthfeel edgy, some rough edges and dusty, sinewy tannins, but these imperfections only add to the wine’s charm and character. This was a fantastic match for a tomato based linguine marinara and is drinking at its peak now.
My first introduction to Gruner Veltliner, after hearing it mentioned in hushed whispers, was about three years ago when I was fortunate enough to sit down for an informal yet focused tasting with John Kavanagh and Tim Finn from Neudorf. We tasted about seven or eight Gruners, all from Austria, ranging in price from around $30 to upwards of $100. Of those seven or eight, only one piqued my curiosity, but certainly not enough that I was willing to part with $80 for the wine. In the main, the wines seemed dilute, broad and boring – lacking any identity or charm. It was a lack-lustre, surprisingly poor showing of a group of wines that were commanding premium prices.
So it’s quite interesting to see that Gruner has only increased in popularity. There are now plantings occurring throughout NZ, the wines can be readily purchased from mainstream retailers, and people seem to be genuinely excited about its potential. The Austrian industry, since the infamy of the glycol scandal in the 1980s, has come back with a vengeance it would seem.
Gruner Veltliner is Austria’s grape, a white variety good for food matching and available in a myriad of styles, largely dependent on the region where it’s grown. Peach and citrus are common with the variety, in addition to an inherent spice that can come across as pepper or even tobacco.
Friends were hosting a Gruner tasting at the Lazy Dog on Tuesday night, so a perfect opportunity to go along and have a fresh look at Gruner Veltliner. The wines served, representing the regions of the Wachau, Kremstal and Kamptal respectively, were:
2007 Knoll Gruner Veltliner Federspiel
2007 FX Pichler Gruner Veltliner Frauenweingarten
2006 Prager Zwerithaler Gruner Veltliner Smaragd
2006 Prager Achleiten Gruner Veltliner Smaragd
2006 Salomon Undhof Von Stein Reserve Gruner Veltliner
2006 Hirsch Heiligenstein Gruner Veltliner
2006 Hirsch Lamm Gruner Veltliner
2006 Brundlmayer Langenloiser Berg-Vogelsang Gruner Veltliner
2006 Brundlmayer Alte Reben Gruner Veltliner
2006 Schloss Gobelsburg Kammerner Grub Gruner Veltliner
2006 Schloss Gobelsburg Kammerner Lamm Gruner Veltliner
Knoll, who has earned notoriety through his extravagant labels, has 15ha in various plots under vine. The Federspiel – or “Exploding Jesus” - had a really interesting nose; apricot, cinnamon, guava, mineral – assertive, with complexity and nice proportions. The palate entry is delicate, with subtle lemon/lime, pepper and minerality, finishing with a unique warmth as though “breathmint fresh”. There’s a fine texture and an elegant backbone of acidity. To me, this resembled what Gruner Veltliner – as a varietal wine with typicite – should be, from my limited experience.
Pichler, with 13ha of vineyards, has half planted to Gruner and the other to Riesling (with a smidge of Sauv Blanc). The Frauenweingarten opens with sulphides, mineral and white peach. Citrus palate and quite primary and youthful. It’s more elegant and less phenolic than the former, almost Riesling-like in structure, with a polished texture and juicy acidity. This was nice and easy to like.
Prager is run by Toni Bodenstein and, like the former two producers, rates very highly. An advocate of site and terroir, Bodenstein is a strong believer in wild fermentations. The two wines were quite different. The Zwerithaler spicy and slightly herbaceous, with a very spicy palate and considerable warmth. Rich, big and full-bodied, with candy notes on the finish. It failed to win me over. The Achleiten had a strongly pineapple nose with other tropical fruit; some orange blossom too. Rich, viscous texture, full of sweet, ripe stonefruit. Spicy, and again with that intriguing warmth on the finish. This was a bit flabby for me.
The lone example from Kremstal comes from Salomon Undhof, with his Von Stein Reserve sourced off old vines (50yrs plus) and steep, rocky terraces. A friend tasting by my side suggested a nose of fruit cake with brandy, and she was spot on. This was quirky, to say the least. Spearmint, spice, nutmeg, pine and peach too. Lighter bodied than the others, there was a defined core of intense, spiced-pear fruit. Glycerol texture, but still kept buoyant by delineated acidity. Finishes dry and fresh. Perhaps a caricature, but enjoyable nonetheless.
The final flight, from the Kamptal region, has an appellation requirement that wines be made from Gruner or Riesling and when labelled “Classic” have a minimum 12% alcohol and when labelled “Reserve” have a minimum 13% alcohol. Interesting.
The Heiligenstein from Hirsch comes from very old, desert sandstone and volcanic soils. Lots of citrus on the nose, with some sulphides. Immediately reminds me of Riesling with similarities to the Pichler. Primary, young, with residual sweetness and more palate citrus. Silky texture and complementary acid. This is the crowd pleaser and, for $29, represents unheard of value by Gruner standards, but where’s the Gruner?
Hirsch’s Lamm had a spicy, nutty nose with stonefruit. Glossy texture and quite broad in the mouth with just enough acid. Quite a ripe fruit profile. Ho-hum.
Under an organic regime, Brundlmayer trains most of his grapevines just above ground level to capitalise on soil heat. The Langenloiser has aromas of sweet tropical fruit, sea spray and spice. There is good structure; impressive linearity and a tad phenolic. Citrus on the palate, gentle acidity and a crisp, dry finish. Definitely a food wine.
The Alte Reben – old vines – is very perfumed; hard to pinpoint any one character. The palate is delicate, spicy, with an elegant, supple texture. It’s fresh and quite enjoyable, with a long, musk aftertaste. The best candidate for the cellar I’d say.
One of the oldest wineries in Austria, Schloss Gobelsburg has 35ha surrounding its castle. Aligning themselves with organic practices, the wines are aged in large oak casks made of wood sourced from Austrian forests. The Grub had a complex, tropical nose; ripe peach, guava, paw-paw, also with honey, nettle and beeswax. There’s very juicy fruit on the palate – quite sweet – with the nettle character prominent. Finishes quite gritty.
The final wine, Schloss Gobelsburg Kammerner Lamm, had a really powerful nose. Tropical fruit, flowers, cinnamon and spices. It’s very rich, with lots of fruit and a big texture. Big fruit, big texture, big body – the prop forward of Gruners. A sit-down, thinking wine.
Interesting tasting, looking at three of the major regions with an increase in the anticipated standard of quality from my previous experience. Having said that, I still feel that Gruner Veltliner is commanding a premium that isn’t entirely warranted. These are not cheap wines, at an average cost of $50, and when I would only consider buying 3 out of the 11, it makes it very hard for the punter who is diving in blind.
Jury’s out.
Well, I’ll concede, it’s not quite summer yet, but we had some gorgeous weather - aside from the odd southerly gust - and in between flying kites, washing cars and throwing pinecones for the dogs, Drew, Karen, Siobhan and I kicked back with some tasty whites and delicious food.
2005 Donnhoff Oberhauser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett This is an interesting wine and not what I was expecting. It’s more like a classic kabinett, in terms of acidity, sweetness and structure. The nose is quite floral, already with a dose of kero and some lemon/lime characters. Inhale a little harder and the sweeter, riper peach notes begin to emerge, though they need some coaxing.
There’s more minerality on the palate, reinforced by lively, grippy acidity. The texture is subtle, as are the flavours; delicate and gentle, though still persistent. It’s a wine with layers of intrigue, heightened by knowledge of the vintage and producer. Drier than I was expecting, with more development too, but enjoyable nonetheless.
2007 Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay A wine that, at this young age, really benefits from a slightly warmer serving temperature. A creamy stonefruit nose that’s expressive and perfumed. An austere, youthful, precise structure of acidity penetrates the palate of nutty, toasty fruit. The textural qualities are just beginning to unfold, but this is a Chardonnay that needs lots more time. Tight, shy and a little awkward, this child on its first day of school has the pedigree to grow into a star performer for those who are patient.
2005 Marcel Deiss Riesling A lovely honeysuckle, almost buttery nose with spice, subtle fresh and dried fruits and a hint of marzipan. The fruit spectrum on the palate has lots of juicy citrus and peach characters, supplemented by a viscous, generous texture without being cumbersome or too full-bodied. Finishes with yet more delicious juicyness, augmented by a veiled streak of acidity that beautifully complements the whole package. A lovely wine and absolutely exquisite with Drew’s pork-wrapped-pork-with-pork.
1988 Marc Bredif Vouvray Exotic nose of melon, beeswax, apricot kernel, fresh hay and honey. Rich, voluminous texture, with lots of honey and caramel qualities. Lovely tropical fruit flavours on the palate. The acidity, whilst quite shy initially, builds to freshen and accentuate the finish. A wine that really wakes up the tastebuds, with a wonderful amalgam of fruit, texture, acidity and sweetness. I’ve tried several vintages of Bredif’s Vouvray from this decade and the ‘88 is by far my favourite - a classy and very enjoyable wine.
We also enjoyed a handful of other wines where I wasn’t so rigorous on notes. A 2001 SA Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese had a lovely undercurrent of acidity with some botrytis fruit notes and delectable sweetness. The 2007 Cristom Mt Jefferson Cuvee Pinot from Oregon showed well with Steve Doerner’s telltale tannins and structure - a beautiful wine, especially when given the context of the vintage. A Forrest “Bubbles for Beth” Sparkling Syrah Malbec gave the Aussies their fizzy red fix (great juice) and a 2000 Bonny Doon Le Cigare Volant red blend served blind had everyone confused (seamless, with flavour intensity and tactile tannins).
The anticipated Hawkes Bay syrah nose of violets, white and black pepper and mulberry, but also a curious tomato leaf character as well. This leafiness develops further in the glass, alluding to syrah fruit picked at the earlier spectrum of its ripening window, reinforced by the lowish 13% alcohol.
In the mouth the acidity is prominent, with a palate of more white pepper and cherries. The texture is quite furry and fuzzy, as are the tannins, like a wine on a woollen jumper in dire need of some lint removal.
Despite verging on sourness, the acidity does give the palate some bounce and a lively juiciness to the fruit. It’s a pleasant wine, with a nice amalgam of sweet, savoury and sour, though don’t expect to be blown away. A wine that demands food and suited a roast lamb shoulder more than adequately.
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