I remember, many years ago, an Austrian wine tasting in which Gruner Veltliner was compared to Chardonnay from other countries. I didn’t think that it was really a reasonable comparison, as I thought GruV had more in common with Riesling. When I try this wine I am not so sure I was right.
Gruner Veltliner Smaragd Loibner Berg 2001, FX Pichler
A dense, deep nose with some white pepper, but lots of lemony fruit. It has the roundness of Chardonnay, the fruit too. It is certainly very mineral, and you’ve got to love its vivacity. This is a seriously complex, compelling nose of great style and class. It reaches the heady level of being interesting and thought-provoking. The palate has plenty of weight as well, but it is rather elegant. The fruit is lemony and, once again, it is quite white peppery. This has real interest. Even though ageing it has not changed it so much, the change is a improvement. This is one of the best GruVs I’ve had since I was regularly drinking with my chum Gernot. This is good. Damned-good.
