Matured in large barrel, Schmid’s 2007 Zweigelt Strazinger Rieden offers a classic expression of its grape, with black cherry including bitter fruit skin notes informing a bright, juicy palate and leading to a refreshing, salt-tinged, quite simply delightful finish. Enjoy it over the next 18-24 months. An ostensibly more serious – blended – Schmid red was far less attractive. Amazingly, each of three times that Schmid has made Eiswein, it has been from Zweigelt. Josef Schmid – son of the eponymous Schmid for whom the winery is named – did not score quite the number of successes this year that had come to my attention from 2006. But visiting with him made clear the passion with which he is pursuing quality, and which is resulting in some excellent values. Nearly all of the 2007s here were rather tight and reductive last summer, so they may well all benefit short term from time in bottle.Importer: Weygandt-Metzler Importing, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800