Gruner Veltliner

Saying this is my favorite Washington (or even Domestic) Gruner Veltliner is faint praise given the paucity of producers.  Let's just say this is an excellent white wine and a terrific value.  Light gold/green in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with granny smith apples, slight lime and lots of minerality.  Maybe a bit of a floral note, too.  Medium bodied.  Slightly oily texture.  On the palate, apples and limes.  This goes down easy.  Good energy and balance.  Nice finish.  Drink over the next five to eight years.  This drinks well on its own and will work well with lighter foo

A lovely Gruner that is typically their lightest in the portfolio.  Pale gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with green apples, slight lemons and minerality.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this is crisp and clean with a lime sweet-tart to it with some white pepper.  Nice finish.  Drink over the next five to ten years.  This will work well with lighter dishes including fish and chicken.  

Ried indicates this is a single vineyard wine, in this case Steinsetz, which is just outside the village of Gobelsburg.  This is a beautiful wine.  Light, pale golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has limes with salinity and minerals.  On the palate, this has a great backbone of acidity.  Lots of lime fruit, some white pepper and just a hint of herbs (chervil?).  Tart but not bracing.  Long finish.  This might improve a bit but should make great drinking over the next ten to twelve years.  It will work well with lighter foods and should be a nice match for broiled sea food. 

This is made from some of the younger vines they own.  Golden in color with some bubbles.  It appears to be trapped CO2 and nothing worse that gave the wine a bit of a frizzante quality.  On the palate, slight limes, nice minerality, and a bit of herbs (sage?).  On the palate, this has a nice vibrancy.  Some spritz.  Lemon-lime notes, slight ripe/sweet quality, with underlying minerality.  A bit of tannins on the finish.  An interesting wine that should drink well over the next five to eight years.  It will work well with lighter foods though pork might be a nice choice to go with the sage

Nice to be able to try a Gruner with 14 years of age on it.  It was still nice if a bit past prime but shows there is some staying power.  Light gold in color.  The nose has lost its fruit but there is still some minerality and a bit of fleshiness to it.  On the palate, the crisp acidity is still there but again, no fruit.  There is some depth and minerality.  Drink up if you have any or what the heck, let it go five more and see what happens.  Better with some cheeses.  

At a recent tasting, this seemed to be love it or hate it and that is easy to understand.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is different with a fleshy sort of barnyard note and plenty of minerality but no fruit.  On the palate, this has a really nice oily texture, but again, no real fruit, its all about minerality.  With some air, some dried tropical fruits do come out.  A hint of pepper and bitterness on the finish.  It is an interesting wine, but not what one thinks of for Gruner.  It would have been good to taste this on release as a data point.  

Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has some limes, plenty of minerality and a bit of a sweaty sock note.  With air, a sweet-tart quality comes out.  On the palate, this is soft but tasty.  Limes with underlying minerality.  A bit of white pepper.  Shorter finish.  Drink over the next year or two.  This will work nicely with baked trout.  

An excellent take on Gruner but very distinct.  Light golden in color.  The nose has lots of minerality with slight granny smith apples and maybe a hint of lime.  Medium bodied with a slightly oily texture.  On the palate, the minerality comes thru with a touch of lime.  Long finish.  This should be consumed over the next three to five years.  It drinks well on its own and will work well with lighter foods.  

This is a great take on Gruner.  Very different from the Austrian versions but every bit as good.  Pale silvery green/gold in color.  The nose has apples, slight lemon peel and slight white pepper.  On the palate, this has just a hint of sweetness to it.  Nicely balanced with acidity but there is still some green apple fruit.  Nice finish.  This drinks well on its own especially outside on a hot day.  It works nicely with lighter foods.  It probably should be consumed in the next three to five years.  

This is resally drinking nicely right now.  Maybe give it just a bit of air.  Light golden in color.  The nose has peas, slight white pepper and pears.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this has good, not intense acidity.  Nice mouthfeel.  The pears continue thru and give it some edge.  Very persistent finish.  Drinking well, it won't get better but should last for another five years.  A nice match with lighter summer foods or on its own.