Austria

 This is a blend of 91% Chardonnay, 6% Pinot Blanc, 2% Muskat-Ottonel 1% Pinot Gris.  The wineries notes recommend shaking prior to serving which was not done.  No worry, an excellent showing and a very nice value.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is tight at first but then shows sulfur/gunpowder and grapefruits.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this is smoky with minerals and some grapefruit.  Good finish.  It is easy drinking and tasty right now.  Drink over the next few years.  It drinks nicely on its own and will work with lighter foods or soft cheeses.  

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.  

Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has lemon-lime qualities with some minerality.  On the palate, this opens quickly with bold flavors.  Tart lemon candy and some underlying minerality.  Good acidity.  Longer finish.  There is a nice vibrancy here.  Drink over the next few years.  It works great on its own but worked better with soft cheeses.  

Pale Gold in color, clear and bright.  This took maybe 3o to 45 minutes to open up.  On the nose there is a nice lemon candy note with some minerality.  On the palate, the lemon candy comes thru along with fresh lemons and underlying minerality.  Slight char.  There is a nice depth and complexity here.  Still on the youthful side with plenty of vibrancy.  Long finish.  This should drink well for another twelve to fifteen years.  This is great on its own and will work with a wide variety of lighter foods including fried chicken.   

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.  

This is a sparkling Rose blend of Zweigelt and Pinot Noir.  It is meant to be a light hearted, fun wine and it achieves that and more.  Pale pink in color.  There is a nice mousse of larger bubbles that disappears quickly.  The nose has cherries, cherry juice and a touch of lanolin.  On the palate, this is sweet.  Light bodied with apples and cherries.  Shorter finish.  This is refreshing and a nice end of the day/start to an evening wine.  Drink now.  This is very food friendly and will work well with poultry, fish and lighter foods.  

Delicious, if young, Austrian Riesling.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has some apples, slight lemon and slight diesel.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, clean with apples and lemons and nice minerality.  Dry.  Strong, lovely acidity.  Long finish.  This will continue to mature and improve for another five to ten years and drink well for ten to twelve after that.  It is great on its own and very versatile (and probably better) with food.  It went well with Quiche.