All whites this time. I tried a couple of Grüner Veltliners from Carnuntum over the past couple of weeks, and am still trying to get a feel for this region, so to speak.
2009 Rudolf Fürst Müller-Thurgau QbA Franken "pur mineral”
Until this wine, I had never met a Müller-Thurgau that I liked, whether it came from Germany, Austria, Oregon, or Italy. This is medium-bodied, bone dry, and nicely balanced; quite mineral, with notes of tropical fruit, and the grapes that you get inside a can of fruit cocktail. Very good; I look forward to trying more from Fürst in the future.
2009 Maison Verget Pouilly-Fuissé
Medium-bodied, bone dry, and well balanced; concentrated and focused, with good underlying acidity; mineral/mildly oaky, with tropical fruit and anise notes. Very good.
2009 Poderi Sanguineto I e II Bianco IGT Toscana
A blend of Malvasia Verde, Malvasia Toscana, Biancame, Trebbiano Toscano, and Grechetto. According to the Vitis International Variety Catalogue (http://www.vivc.de), Malvasia Verde is a synonym for Furmint. Before this wine, I was not aware of any Furmint being grown in Italy.
Mineral/lemon drop nose. Full, rich, bone dry, yet nicely balanced, with good underlying acidity. Mineral/stony, with flavors of honey, citrus fruits, golden plums, almonds, and anise. Very good; good QPR at $15.
2009 Markowitsch Grüner Veltliner Ried Schanzäcker Carnuntum
Slightly musky floral nose. Moderately full-bodied, dry, fat, and mineral; round and polished, with some citrus and tropical fruit flavors, and herbal/chickpea notes on the finish. I thought that it was too forward and upfront.
2008 Walter Glatzer Grüner Veltliner Dornenvogel Carnuntum
Medium-bodied, well balanced, with racy acidity; shows citrus, mineral, and herbal notes, with good depth. Very good; the best that I have had from Glatzer so far.
2007 Pascale Marthouret Condrieu
Full, dry, oily, and focused, with floral, mineral, citrus, peach, and spice notes. I don’t remember having another Condrieu with as much of a spicy character as this one had. Very good.
2007 Schloss Gobelsburg Riesling Tradition Kamptal Reserve
From the Enomatic machine. Full, crisp, broad, bone dry, and very nicely balanced, with impressive acidity. Slightly saline/herbal, very mineral, with shell, limestone, apple, and floral (lilac?) notes. Excellent; should develop quite nicely.
2005 Keller Weißburgunder und Chardonnay QbA Trocken Rheinhessen
As much as I love Keller’s wines, I really didn’t know what to expect here. This blend seemed odd to me when I first saw that bottle – after all, Pinot Blanc can be very similar to Chardonnay, so why bother to blend the two? Not to mention that I am skeptical as to why a well-established German producer needs to grow Chardonnay grapes; as if there are not already enough Chards on the market. Then again, this is Keller, and I am definitely going to give any of their wines a try for $8/bottle. I have no idea what the proportions of each grape are in this wine.
Mineral/tropical fruit nose. Medium-bodied, bone dry, and well balanced, with good underlying acidity; unexpectedly, slightly spritzy. Lightly crisp, and powdery in texture. Quite mineral, and somewhat buttery, with leesy melon and papaya flavors. Slightly bitter on the finish.
1999 Királyudvar Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos Lapis Vineyard
From 500 ml bottle; 78% Furmint and 22% Hárslevelű. Lightly to moderately viscous, yet surprisingly lithe; sweet and well balanced, with very good underlying acidity. Slightly oxidative, with notes of apricots, caramel, citron and candied fruits, orange marmalade, and burnt sugar. Excellent+.