Wieninger Gruner Veltliner Preussen

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The mere 300 liters of Wieninger 2010 Gruner Veltliner Preussen will be worth looking out for, although most of that volume is destined for a single merchant in Munich who helped convince its author not to blend it away despite the tiny volume. A lovely nose of fresh lime, sour cherry, rhubarb, and pungent green herbs segues into a bright but extract-rich palate whose combination of stimulating tartness and cooling aura makes for terrific refreshment. Savory salinity and ineffable mineral intrigue add to the allure of a long, mouthwatering finish. This ought to be engrossing to follow over the better part of a decade (and Wieninger has at least determined to hold some back at the winery for future presentation or perhaps extremely limited sales). Fritz Wieninger’s 2010 collection – like that of 2009 – was literally cut-down by hail (and sadly, several important sites on the Nussberg were savaged again on the eve of my brief stay in Vienna this June). Not that the poor flowering and autumn desiccation – hallmarks that they are of 2010 as a whole – spared Viennese vineyards either. Wieninger’s entire Nussberg holdings produced only 2,000 bottles worth of Riesling, though Gruner Veltliner was thankfully less dramatically reduced; and the overall 2010 crop represented around 40% of mid-term average. (I shall bring readers up-do-date very shortly on the outstanding 2008 and 2009 collections from this estate, whose impressive recent successes are owed in part, notes Wieninger, to cellarmaster Luis Teixeira’s arrival, having ushered in an era of four-hand collaboration.) The difference in grape sugar between lesser- and top-sites was relatively small in 2010, and the cool weather on top of vine trauma from hail made for relatively low finished alcohol across the board. “It’s a very Austrian vintage,” says Wieninger, well aware that the combination of moderate alcohol and pronounced acidity to which he thereby refers has been far from the norm over the past dozen or so years. “I de-acidified selectively, but not at all when it came to Riesling,” he relates, signaling a reversal of the approach taken by many growers, “because I decided that with this grape I could instead play a bit with residual sugar. And I de-acidified a bit even with my reds, otherwise the pHs were so low it would have inhibited malo.” Due to a late arrival on my part for our meeting, I omitted Wieninger’s latest bottlings of Chardonnay from my tasting.Importer: Winebow, Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620

The 2007 Gruner Veltliner Preussen – harvested in late October from a historically-coveted site on the Nussberg – is partly aged in barrel because Wieninger thinks that helps integrate its characteristic levels of alcohol. Cherry blossom, mint, peach, and papaya in the nose lead to a lush, glycerin-rich, silken-textured palate that hides its roughly 14% alcohol and manages to bring considerable refinement and refreshment into a long, shimmering mineral and subtly pepper- and cress-tinged finish. This is a case of what Austrian or German vintners often call “extract sweetness”: you imagine there must be a hint of residual sugar amplifying all this effusive fruit, but in fact there are only two theoretically undetectable grams. It should merit following from bottle for 2-3 years. Fritz Wieninger has been the prime dynamo behind whatever over-due recognition the wines of Vienna have garnered over the past decade, and I have been remiss in not visiting with him until last year – too early, unfortunately, to assess certain of the 2007s from his sprawling line-up of cuvees, so the selection below is limited wines that were bottled early, or that I had occasion to revisit. “We are warmer in Vienna than the Wachau or Kamptal,” Wieninger reminded me, “and we can’t wait to harvest our vineyards until November, unless of course we want 15 or 16% alcohol. We need lighter wines, and for that, we have to harvest much earlier – which is unfortunate at times, because aromas are significantly enhanced through later picking, a practice suited to our terroir.” Wieninger seems to have mastered the balancing act that corresponds to this paradox of optimal harvest dates. His lighter wines do not display any unripe flavors.Importer: Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700