Gruner x 6
Its great when a grape such as Gruner Veltliner becomes more popular and appears on more and more wine lists and shelves. The flip side of such success can mean that the grape gets tagged with a defined taste and style. Gruner Veltliner is not a one dimensional grape and offers the winemaker great scope to produce wines of great interest and complexity. At a tasting organised by Morgan Van der Kamer of The Wine Workshop last week the diversity and potential of Gruner was shown in a selection of just six wines.
2013 Ingrid Groiss Gruner Veltliner Weinwertal Freshness and Zest
White peach and green plum aromas, pepper and citrus flavours, pale lemon in colour and light in body, very clean and fresh with bright medium + acidity. Great example of the fruity fresh and zesty style of Gruner Veltliner.
2013 Birgit Eichinger “Wechselberg” Kamptal Texture and ripeness
Perfumed aromas of ripe nectarine, peach and red apple flavours, strong lemon colour, with weight and power and super fine precise acidity, dry. Single vineyards show greater texture and this example was picked late in October contributing to the richness and ripe peach notes and less of the green notes often associated with Gruner.
2010 Schloss Gobelsberg Lamm Reserve Kamptal Energetic and complex
Green pepper and spicy aromas with citrus and apple fruit, light to medium bodied with great length and complexity. This single vineyard shows subtlety yet also the purity and intensity of Gruner.
2010 Schloss Gobelsburg Tradition Reserve Kamptal Using different winemaking techniques
Skin contact, no settling, spontaneous fermentation, no temperature control, regular rackings and a greater influence from oxygen followed by aging in old oak casks results in a complex range of aromas and flavours of citrus, stone fruit, candied peel, medium bodied with softer less apparent acidity. This is an extraordinary wine.
The four wines above are available from Wine Mason. We also tasted the following two great examples of Gruner
2007 Gritsch Smaragd Loibenberg Wachau Gruner Veltliner can age
Golden lemon in colour, nutty, oxidative, developed aromas and citrus, red apple, salty flavours with some fusil notes, noticeable higher acidity.
2012 Claus Preisinger Weinland Natural wine
Cloudy slightly orange in colour, dandelion, camomile, lemon aromas and flavours, light to medium bodied and gets more interesting in the glass as it warms up.
