WTN: Salomon Undhof Wieden "Tradition" Gruner Veltliner 2004

Sealed with cork. 12% alcohol. Costs around $30AUD at retail.

Highly aromatic, intense nose of passionfruit, pineapple, guava, orange and lime. Palate is crisp with a touch of spice and shows good focus and structural acidity, lurking in the background is a soupcon of delicate sweetness. Lacks the depth and length to be outstanding, but it is very easy to like and enjoyable to drink.

After a great '95 Kremer Kogl Auslese Riesling from this producer at a recent offline and this wine, I am very keen to try more wines from this maker.

Drink: Now - 2011 Score: 90/100

[Robin Garr]

Nice GV notes, Cam! A favorite variety, I just wish we got a wider selection of it around here. GV is getting to be a regular recommendation with Asian fare, too ...

Thanks Robin. It's not a variety we see much of at all here in Australia either (and I don't know of any major producers making one locally), but it is something I would like to try further.

[Robin Garr]

I probably shouldn't complain, as we've probably had a dozen or more GVs around over recent years, but it's a constantly moving target, with no more than a few on retail shelves at any given time. At its best, GV is a favorite for its minerality more than its fruit ... Austrian wine makers allegedly have a saying, "Why drink fruit when we can drink rocks?"

And it has become almost a cliche, albeit a happy one, on the wine lists of Asian "fusion" restaurants in the US.

I can't say it's <i>never</i> planted anywhere else, but I don't believe I have ever seen a commercial GV from anywhere but Austria. Probably more a matter of lack of demand than climate or geology considerations.

[David M. Bueker]

I can't say it's <i>never</i> planted anywhere else, but I don't believe I have ever seen a commercial GV from anywhere but Austria. Probably more a matter of lack of demand than climate or geology considerations.

2005 J&HA Strub Niersteiner Gruner Veltliner Kabinett Feinherb (Rheinhessen, Germany)

Coming soon to a wine shop near you. I tasted it two weeks ago and loved it. (Imported by Skurnik)

[Robin Garr]

2005 J&HA Strub Niersteiner Gruner Veltliner Kabinett Feinherb (Rheinhessen, Germany)

Coming soon to a wine shop near you. I tasted it two weeks ago and loved it. (Imported by Skurnik)

Innaresting! Thanks for info, David. We do get a lot of Skurnik product here (or, more accurately, we get a lot of the same portfolio imported regionally by Vintner Select), so it may show up, unless local retail passes on it due to weirdness or lack of allocation.