Some really nice stuff ...

Had some really nice wines recently but got no time to post them. Here are my favourite 3.

1. Gewürztraminer 2008 from Weingut Lentsch - delicous - €7

pungent pure rose petals and lychée flavors, exotic fruit basket on the nose, quite the same overwhelming fruit flavors on the palate, very good acid structure, dry, lingering aftertaste, the perfect companion for Foie Gras!!

2. Primary Rocks 2008 from Weingut Gschweicher - delicious/extraordinary - about €15

full bright straw yellow, upfront minerality, wet slate and firestone flavors, strong white pepper, intense and multilayered on the nose, white blossoms, keeps changing with more O2, fruit explosion on the palate, lingering with very good acid structure, very young, will last!

3. Riesling Smaragd Achleiten 2008 from Weingut Prager - extraordinary - about €25

bright golden hue, in the beginning quite restrained but opens up with more O2 and several minutes in the glass, peach and peach blossoms, pure minerality on the nose, stonefruits, passion fruit, mulitlayered and complex on the palate, extremely lingering, gets a honeyed touch with even more O2, constantly changing, extract sweetness, one just wants more of this stuff!!

Boku Heim midweek tasting

The first Boku Heim midweek tasting after the Easter holiday focused on Riesling from Austria. If you note the difference between wine 1 to 4 and wine 5, you will see that the vineyard soil (primary rock 1 to 4 and loess: 5) is quite easily detectable in Austrian wines. Normally I do prefer Riesling from rocky soils as they are more mineral driven and are showing interesting flavors like stone fruits (peaches, apricot). On the other hand GVs from loess are really good too.

Note: All wines were tasted blind.  

1. Riesling „Zöbing“ 2008 from Weingut Hannes Hirsch - good - about €9,50

bit CO2 visible, bright yellow hue, lemon/lime flavors, with more O2 stone fruit detectable, touch of loess, lean aroma, good sugar/acid balance, citrus fruits dominating on the palate, easy drinking, middle length.

2. Riesling „Klassik“ 2008 from Weingut Gschweicher - good - €7

pale yellow hue, explosive nose, hints of SB aroma due to strong aroma profile, lemon/lime and some cold fermentation flavors, lean body, good acid structure with lower RS level than 1, mineral finish, summer terrace wine.

3. Riesling Smaragd „Ried Kirnberg“ 2007 from Weingut Sigl - very good 

golden hue, hints of lemon, ripe peaches, quite evolved nose, petrol, middle body, good acid/RS balance with good pressure on midpalate, good length, gets better every minute with more O2, quite lingering.

4. Urgesteins Riesling „Reipersberg“ from Weingut Gschweicher- very good - €9,50

pale golden hue, typical stone fruit flavors with more apricot than peaches, good acid structure, lingering, good.

5. Riesling Steinfeder „Terrassen“ 2008 from Domäne Wachau - good

bright yellow hue, prominent loess flavors, totally different than all the others but not unpleasant, very balanced but far on the softer side, overall on the broader side, loess driven on the palate.

6. Blaufränkisch „Lüss“ 2006 from Weingut Lentsch - very good 

dark red hue, sour cherries and cherries, maybe a hint of MLF flavor, vanilla and spices, dark chocolate on the palate, good length, mouth filling, oak very good integrated, lingering. 

indigenous Austrian varieties ..

We opened 2 wines which seemed quite interesting.

1. "Himmelstiege" Riesling Federspiel 2007 from Domäne Wachau - very good - €6,90

minerality driven on the nose, peach and other stonefruits, hints of oranges, very flinty, good acid structure on the palate, good balance (6,7 TA; 2,9 RS)

2. Zweigelt Reserve 2004 from Weingut Dolle - ok - €10,30 (Interspar) 

from the beginning rather open on the nose (quite low sulfur level!!), very soft tannins, just little structure, rating on the border to yech! due to this low sulfur level, disappointing. Maybe this state of maturation was caused by insufficient storage conditions.

Anyway, it was really astonishing to us that this is the current winner of the "Zweigelt Reserve" category of the "SALON Österreichischer Wein 2008". 

3. Heulichin 2006 from Weingut Wagentristl - very good/delicious 

cherries and sour cherries prominent on the nose, hints of chocolate and mocha coffee, spices, black pepper, blackberries, a little bit of eucalyptus, some oak structure on the palate but driven by grape tannins, nice length.

Find more information on this winery: http://members.aon.at/weingut-wagentristl/