Great Wines from the Austrian Wine Tasting

I had the opportunity to attend a tasting of Austrian wines hosted by Christian Finz, formerly with the Austrian Wine group, who is based in Calgary with the beverage importer Delancy Direct.

In my last blog post, I highlighted a couple of wines that I enjoyed from the evening. Here are a few more to round out the list.

Loimer Grüner-Veltliner Reserve Terrassen-Kamptal DAC 2008

Lively and complex, with green apple and herbal pepper aromas. Beautiful oily mouthfeel in a long clean finish.

City of Krems Grüner-Veltliner Reserve Wachtberg-Kremstal DAC 2008

The nose and palate didn’t quite line up which was slightly distracting, but overall very pleasant and worth seeking out if you can.

Zimmermann Grüner-Veltliner Gebling-Kamstal DAC 1987

The grandfather of the evening and a special treat from Christian’s cellar. Great development of secondary aromas, lemons, almond, and tea biscuit, complement orange marmalade and a touch of diesel. Slightly musty initially, which you can’t blame it for, soon fruit cake and lemon drops work their way to the fore, while stale almonds and orange zest, and the appearance of strawberry and rhubarb notes made for a tasty and unique experience.

Loimer Riesling Kamptal-Kamptal DAC 2009

One of the more floral wines in the flight, peaches and pear, clean apple and nice mineral expression. A touch of residual sugar, really cap it off. 90 points.

Hirsch Riesling Zöbing-Kamptal DAC 2007

You don’t often get Riesling like this, incredible mineral expression and slightly dirty with some rubbery and smoky characters. A bit like old wellies rinsed with diesel. A touch unbalanced overall, but developed in the glass to something unique, complex, and not for everyone.

Stift Göttweig Riesling Silberbichl Reserve-Kremstal DAC 2008

Rose and mandarin really set this apart, clean flavours of mineral and petrol, I’d love to try this again with some dinner.

Schellmann Gumpoldskirchner Cuvée-Thermal Region 2008

Neat little wine blended from zierlandler, rotgipfler, muskateller, traminer and riesling, quite floral, showing lots of Muscat notes. But not very friendly on the palate.

Winkler-Hermanden Grauburgunder Zwei Rieden South Eastern Styria 1992

Another old gem, this might sound strange, but smelled like cigarette and pipe residue and really worked in its favour. Super funky in a good way with a wild spearmint note. Quick development into orange marmalade and ginger this Pinot Grigio was the oldest I’ve had yet and while too old and over the hill, provided a really neat experience.

Johanneshof-Reinisch Pinot Noir “vom Steinfeld” - Thermal Region 2008

Perhaps too much cinnamon and nutmeg aromas, but cool old world pinot, with good complexity. Highly acidic, I would serve with food rather than alone.

Weninger Blaufränkisch Mittelburgenlanc DAC 2008

I really enjoyed this one. Generous fruits, with maraschino cherry and smoky leather aromas. I found it quite spicy in the mouth, but true flavours, and lots of complexity.

Hans Moser Blaufränkisch “Vom Leithagebirge”-Neurisiedlersee-Hügeland-2006

Firepit, chocolate cherry and a bit poopy. Yes, that’s right, a bit poopy. The palate was simply brilliant, coffee and chocolate, with decent red berry fruits. Very drinkable, and worth buying.

Winkler Hermaden Olivin Zweigelt, South Eastern Styria 2005

Smokey and meaty, with rich earthy notes, mocha, cherry, menthol and so much more. I really enjoyed this zweigelt. A touch pricey, but worth seeking and for trying something different you just might like. 91 Points.

I’ve long enjoyed Grüner-Veltliner and that prompted my interest in this tasting, which is the biggest Austrian-only tasting I have been to. It was great to have my eyes opened to some new varietals and some new producers in such an open setting. Do I recommend trying some of these wines? Absolutely. They might not be for everyone, but at the very least, most are well crafted and great examples. They might be a touch on the pricey side, but if you love white wine, as most of these were, or if you want to try new, great wines that are incredibly food friendly, keep Austria on your radar.

Cheers!

To read about how Tom ended up at this tasting, check out his first blog post on Austrian wines.