WTN: 2005 Steininger Gru Vee.
Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 6:34 pm
WTN: Karl Steininger Grüner Veltliner Steven Holl Austria 2005. Beekman Wines, Glen Rock; $17.00. 13% alcohol. Imported by Prescott Wines, New York, NY. Prescott Wines.
Light yellow straw color; clear hue, lovely aroma of pears and apples with citrus notes that strengthened over time, mineral, pepper and tobacco notes; very good fruit and herb tastes; medium mouth feel; good acidity, which remained smooth in the glass for two hours; long complex finish with fruit and herbal notes. 4*.
Regards, Bob
Notes:
1. "Gru Vee" to winelovers, I am told.
2. My first glass closure. I know that historically glass stoppers were replaced by cork a couple of centuries ago -- reasons of economy are usually given for the change. Call me old fashioned, but I applaud the return of this elegant closure. Easy to remove, easy to replace to store the bottle in the fridge for the next day, quite beautiful, really.
3. I get cranky thinking about cork -- six corked bottles in the past three weeks. I'll use this closure for a long time. I often keep half a bottle in the fridge for the next day (when Janet isn't drinking wine). Putting a cork closure back in the bottle offers two unpleasant alternatives: shove it back in the way it came out, often almost impossible, or shove it in upside down -- but that always offends my sense of order. This glass closure is an elegant alternative that I'll treasure until my next bottle under glass.
4. This wine is named after the architect who designed the Loisium, a wine museum for the town of Langenlois.
5. This wine matched well well with rare tuna steaks, fresh sweet corn, and a melange of roasted vegetables.
6. Gru Vee is new to me; I liked Robin's recent note on the variety: "David Schildknecht wrote "roasted lentils" - an aroma that I have never found in a wine - and now I can't get the idea out of my head. I'm not sure I find it here, though; but there's fragrant white pepper for sure, green garden peas, and more than a hint of something peachy. The aromatics almost lead me to expect light sweetness, but it's bone-dry and crisply acidic, delicate and light-bodied, yet there's steel in there, and rocky Austrian minerality." I didn't find the lentils either, but I did find a great deal of other good stuffings.
Robin's tasting note.
Regards, Bob
Light yellow straw color; clear hue, lovely aroma of pears and apples with citrus notes that strengthened over time, mineral, pepper and tobacco notes; very good fruit and herb tastes; medium mouth feel; good acidity, which remained smooth in the glass for two hours; long complex finish with fruit and herbal notes. 4*.
Regards, Bob
Notes:
1. "Gru Vee" to winelovers, I am told.
2. My first glass closure. I know that historically glass stoppers were replaced by cork a couple of centuries ago -- reasons of economy are usually given for the change. Call me old fashioned, but I applaud the return of this elegant closure. Easy to remove, easy to replace to store the bottle in the fridge for the next day, quite beautiful, really.
3. I get cranky thinking about cork -- six corked bottles in the past three weeks. I'll use this closure for a long time. I often keep half a bottle in the fridge for the next day (when Janet isn't drinking wine). Putting a cork closure back in the bottle offers two unpleasant alternatives: shove it back in the way it came out, often almost impossible, or shove it in upside down -- but that always offends my sense of order. This glass closure is an elegant alternative that I'll treasure until my next bottle under glass.
4. This wine is named after the architect who designed the Loisium, a wine museum for the town of Langenlois.
5. This wine matched well well with rare tuna steaks, fresh sweet corn, and a melange of roasted vegetables.
6. Gru Vee is new to me; I liked Robin's recent note on the variety: "David Schildknecht wrote "roasted lentils" - an aroma that I have never found in a wine - and now I can't get the idea out of my head. I'm not sure I find it here, though; but there's fragrant white pepper for sure, green garden peas, and more than a hint of something peachy. The aromatics almost lead me to expect light sweetness, but it's bone-dry and crisply acidic, delicate and light-bodied, yet there's steel in there, and rocky Austrian minerality." I didn't find the lentils either, but I did find a great deal of other good stuffings.
Robin's tasting note.
Regards, Bob