I found the caramelized, confectionary sweetness of Nigl’s 2008 Gruner Veltliner Eiswein (harvested only in January, 2009) overdone as well as at odds with that wine’s vegetal-herbal varietal essence – a judgment I often find myself rendering on this grower’s, in certain quarters very popular dessert wines – but the corresponding 2008 Gruner Veltliner Trockenbeerenauslese is considerably more intriguing, harmonious, and ultimately juicily satisfying. Apricot preserves, orange marmalade, and nut paste inform a creamy, honeyed palate rather superficially sweet, leading to a finish whose nips of herbs and botrytis spice lend welcome counterpoint and which harbors a core of primary fruit juiciness that might well have escaped save for the fact that there was so little of this wine, Nigl was compelled to raise it in tank rather than – as is usually his wont – in barrique. I advise enjoying this sweetly-soothing elixir over the next 6-8 years. My few experiences with older Nigl nobly sweet wines have not left me especially convinced; but then, that has been my reaction to most of them at a youthful stage, too.“We really only began the 2010 harvest at the same point in early November where we had finished picking in 2009,” relates Martin Nigl, “and I think that this was enormously advantageous (in 2010) to maximize physiological maturation. We weren’t done until November 25.” The musts for several lighter wines were marginally de-acidified; the rest were, in Nigl’s words “de-acidified on the vine.” Time on the fine lees was no doubt also important, and it seems that temperatures may not have piqued acids to the extent that they did in the nearby Kamptal. (For some notes about Nigl’s diverse and distinctive sites, consult my reviews in issue 181 as well as in other previous Austrian reports.)Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300
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