Annual "Wein Burgenland" presentation

This year annual "Wein Burgenland" presentation was really interesting. Crowds of wine lovers joined me tasting, sipping, chatting, bit later loudly discussing and cheering in the quite nice ambient of the Viennese "Museumsquartier" of short MQ. I´ve tasted about 100 wines but due to time limits I will just publish those rated good or better.

The most inspiring conversation that afternoon was with Martina Mariel from winery Konrad Mariel. We talked about the different tasting habits and pattern of winemakers, consumers and journalists. Long conversation cut short - winemakers are always looking for faults and taints, journalists are on the other side of this spectrum, they are looking for all the positive flavors and are more generous regarding minor (some even major eg. Brett) flaws, the consumers is somewhere in the middle, I hope the consumers main concern is looking for pleasure.

Here are my tasting notes: (some wines showed restrained flavors due to recent bottlings)

1. Sauvignon Blanc 2008 from Weingut Haider Heinrich - good 

fresh green flavors, very typical for SB in this region, good acid structure.

2. Zweigelt 2007 from Weingut Heiling - good

cherries, good tannin structure, length ok.

3. Sankt Laurent 2007 from Weingut Heiling - good

bit restrained, but opens up wit more O2, fruitdriven

4. Pinot Noir 2005 from Weingut Leo Hillinger - good/very good

bit stinky at the first snif, but with more O2 very typical flavors, good structure.

5. Hill 1 2006 from Weingut Leo Hillinger - good

rather oaky and closed, very modern style, juicy tannins, good strucutre, young.

6. Sankt Laurent 2007 from Weingut Hans Nittnaus - good

quite typical color and flavors, very good length.

7. Pinot Noir 2006 from Weingut Schloss Halbturn - good/very good

bit closed, very typical, soft lingering tannin backbone.

8. Muskat Ottonel 2008 from Weingut Silvia Steiner - good

fruit driven, very good balanced.

9. Pinot Blanc 2008 from Weingut Birgit Braunstein - good

restrained pear aroma, flinty, good structure, shows minerality on the palate.

10. Chardonnay 2008 from Weingut Birgit Braunstein - good

ripe yellow apple, bit restrained, good acid structure, minerality.

11. Gelber Muskateller 2008 from Weingut Konrad Mariel - good

fresh, fruity, musky, good acid structure, refreshing.

12. Grüner Veltliner 2008 from Weingut Konrad Mariel - good/very good

peppery nose, very typical variety expression, racy acid backbone.

13. Pinot Blanc 2008 from Weingut Konrad Mariel - good

creamy, pear, flinty, quite lean palate.

 

14. Cuvee Condre 2007 from Weingut Konrad Mariel - good/very good 

Cassis, some green hints but not unpleasant, multilayered, good balanced.

15. GV Bergweingarten M 2008 from Weingut Sommer - good/very good

spicy, peppery, very good acid structure, typical.

16. Sauvignon Blanc Wolfsbach 2008 from Weingut Sommer - good

bell pepper, some asparagus, canned peas.

17. Chardonnay Kreuzjoch 2008 from Weingut Sommer - good

fresh, fruity, sugar melon, good acid structure.

18. Muskateller 2008 from Weingut Sommer - good

very explosive nose, typical, green apple, quite soft palate, good length.

19. Rivaner 2008 from Weingut Wagentristl - good

musky, very subtle aroma.

20. Pinot Blanc 2008 from Weingut Wagentristl - good

fresh, fruity, exotic fruit cocktail, good length.

21. Chardonnay 2008 from Weingut Wagentristl - good

soft, melon, some more exotic fruits, balanced.

22. Blaufränkisch 2006 from Weingut Wagentristl - good

spicy, straightforward style, good length.

23. Pinot Noir Kreideberg 2006 from Weingut Wagentristl - good

pale red, orange reflections, red fruits, spicy, good length.

24. Cuvee Heulichin 2006 from Weingut Wagentristl - good/very good

bold, oak, still very young, restrained but good fruit, lingering.

25. Mittelburgenland DAC Reserve 2006 from Weingut Bauer-Pöltl - good

spicy, lean, very typical, good tannin structure.

26. Mittelburgenland DAC Reserve Quintus 2006 from Weingut Iby - good/very good

bit restrained fruit, lean and straightforward, very good structured, age worthy.

27. Chevalier 2006 from Weingut Iby - good

restrained fruit, quite closed now, very good length and structure.

28. Ab Ericio 2006 from Weingut Igler - good

bit plasticine, maybe minor Brett infection (future will show), currently juicy tannin structure, lingering.

Grüner Veltliner DAC!!

Actually it is quite funny if one finds pics like this ... it seems that even 6 years after the introduction of the first DAC the Austrians still prefer the variety on the label ... Mr. Pfaffl is going to die 1000 deaths ... 

And frankly ... have a closer look at the label ...  it states clearly: Grüner Veltliner DAC (same font, same size!!)

pic from:

Wein « Gourmet « Schaufenster « DiePresse.com

Michel Rolland on Bordeaux 2008

Barolo ..

Today Ulli and I had Pizza for dinner and we upgraded our meal with a bottle of Barolo from Fratelli Revello.

This Barolo is definitely made in a modern style. Very lean and pure.

Fratelli Revello Barolo 2004 - very good - €36 (Wein&Co)

farily colored with orange reflections, restrained fruit on the nose but opens up with O2, licorice, cedarwood, tannin backbone, very typical, still quite young.

find more infos: http://www.revellofratelli.com/

Boku Heim tasting

Boku Heim midweek tasting from 2.3. - tasting team: Michelle, Christina, Bernhard K., Bernhard G. and I. This week we tasted a lot a newly bottled wines. Some were still closed but overall a very nice stuff and very reasonably priced!)

1. Welschriesling 2008 from Weingut Lentsch - good - €4

loads of CO2 visible, very fresh, green apples, hay, meadow flowers, easy drinking, very good acid structure,

2. Pinot Blanc 2008 from Weingut Lentsch - good/very good - €4,50

CO2, green walnut hulls, nutty, more fulbodied than 1., pears, good length, pistachios, almond paste, poppy seed, lingering.

3. Sämling 2008 from Weingut Lentsch - good/very good - €4,20

extremly fruity, stone fruits, "Wachauer" apricot, lemon and lime flavors, well balanced, lingering apricot on the palate.

4. Frizzante GV 2008 from Weingut Gschweicher - good - €5

loads of CO2, peppery and gooseberries, very young (clear ... filled as all wines last week), balanced palate (about 15g/l RS) nice and refreshing, summer wine.

5. Chardonnay 2008 from Weingut Gschweicher - good - €5

rather closed, hints of melons, quite restrained palate too, needs time.

6. Sauvignon Blanc „Reipersberg“ 2008 from Weingut Gschweicher - very good - €7

green asparagus, hints of canned peas, gooseberries, quite international style on the nose, pistachios underlined with caramel, very good acid structure and powerful aromas on the nose.

7. Grüner Veltliner „Urkristall“ 2008 from Weingut Gschweicher - ok/good - €5

lemon and lime flavors, steely, balanced and good acid structure, bit short, easy drinking.

8. DAC Weinviertel „Klassik“ 2008 from Weingut Gschweicher - good/very good - €5,50

white pepper underlined with some exotic flavors, good acid structure, „spicy“ palate, strangely salty.

9. DAC Weinviertel „Reipersberg“ 2008 from Weingut Gschweicher - good/very good - €6,50

bit restrained due to recent bottling, yellow apple flavors, rather ripe style, quite fulbodied and lingering, aging potential, will greatly improve with time!

10. Grüner Veltliner „Galgenberg“ 2008 from Weingut Gschweicher - very good - €7,20

totally different style, passion fruit, exotic, very fulbodied, ageworthy.

11. Blaufränkisch Rosé 2008 from Weingut Lentsch - good - €4

salmon pale red hue, strawberries, wild berry gums on the nose, good acid structure, lingering, summer wine.

12. Barolo 2004 from Coop. Agr. Castiglione Falletto - still ok - €15,99 (Merkur)

rather pale red hue, orange reflections, earthy, Brett flavors, acetone, tight tannin structure, lingering, dead after 2 minutes with O2.