Day 5 was a sunday. It was also the day of the Wachau-marathon. So driving around in Wachau was almost impossible. Instead we went to Kamptal, had a walk in the Heiligenstein and lunch in Langenlois. Later we went to Melk to see the Stift, which was really impressive. It is a must when in Wachau to use some hours here. A couple of notes on wines in the context of the previous posts:
Neuburger Ried Burgberg/Spitz smaragd 1988, Freie weingärtner Wachau
Yellow colour. Shy and a bit earthy nose. Some floral and mineral elements, but rather shy. I ended up switching glass; from the Riedel sommelier bordeaux to the Riedel Vinum burgundy-glass. This worked a lot better. The nose showed a lot more depth and intensity. Earth, fine floral and herbal hints and fine minerality. In the mouth this was a mature and slim neuburger smaragd with slight fat up front. Fine fruit, mature now. Floral and mineral hints. Fine acids and medium length. I found this very fine indeed. Caroline was not so positive.
Karsdorfer Hohe Gräte silvaner trocken 2004, Weingut Lützkendorf
Straw colour. With air this developed a fine nose; herbal, yet fruity. More red than white. Mostly like wild strawberries and with fine hints of chalk. In the mouth this was a medium bodied and dry silvaner with fine concentration for a QbA. Quite a lot of chalk and herbal notes. Quite elegant. Fine acids and length. Fine foodwine. Very good silvaner QbA indeed. Drinking very fine now and good for the price.
The next day we had an appointment at Mantlerhof in Gedersdorf. His roter veltliner is by many considered the finest around and have been a long time favourite of mine. Sepp Mantler is really dedicated to the making of the wines at Gedersdorf. All his wines are from this village and the tasting provided a great insight on the different vineyards.
Grüner Veltliner Weitgasse 2005, 11,5% alc.
Light straw colour, light spritz. Fresh and aromatic nose with some apricot and light spice. Touch of minerality. Acidic, slim and refreshing GV in the mouth. Simple and fruity palate with mostly apricot and some mineral. Spice in the finish. Refreshing wine, good summer-drink.
Grüner Veltliner Lössterrassen 2005, 12%
Straw colour. Typical and spicy grüner veltliner-nose with some hints of honey, apricot and mineral. Medium bodied and fine fruit in the mouth. Apricot, mineral, typical grüner veltliner-spice. Fine, but lacking great depth. Fine acids and length.
Grüner veltliner Spiegel 2005, 13%
Straw colour. The nos shows a lot more minerality here. With citrus and some spice. Fullbodied and dry grüner veltliner in the mouth. A more mineral approach of the fruit with more extract. But quite a slim wine with fine and high acids. Too young at this stage, but a very serious grüner veltliner. Very good wine.
Grüner veltliner Spiegel 2004, 13,5%
Straw colour. More evolved here. Shows a lot more peppery nose and typical grüner veltliner-aromas. Fine minerality and more open and complex. In the mouth this shows a little less minerality, but fine and complex fruit. Not as structured as the 2005 and much more giving today. Very fine wine, but the 2005 will be better.
Roter veltliner Reisenthal 2005, 14%
Yellow colour. A bit shy nose. Hints of oil and some herbal character. Strange and interesting. Powerful and concentrated wine in the mouth. Again this hints of oil and old herbal character. I find this really interesting and quite typical for the roter veltliners from Mantlerhof. The balance here is nice. The acids fine and no problem of balancing the alcohol. Very good wine that needs some time.
Roter veltliner Reisenthal 2004
Yellow colour. The nose shows more herbal and green flowery character, but with the same oilyness there. In the mouth it is a lighter roter veltliner with finer acids and length. More open fruit, more herbal here. Fine, but again I prefer the 2005.
Riesling Zehetnerin 2005, 12,5%
Light straw colour. Aromatic, flowery riesling with some spice and earth. Slim wine in the mouth. Spicy fruit, some earth and flowers. Lacking a little minerality. Good structure and fine acids. Good wine, but not the greatest depth.
Riesling Tiefenthal 2005, 13%
From 80 year old vines. Light straw/green colour. The nose here has much more minerality. Good depth, some spice, some flowers. Also a slim and dry riesling in the mouth with even better structure. More citrus and mineral-driven fruit with great depth. Good length. Young wine that needs time. But this was a great wine and my favourite riesling of the day.
Riesling Steingraben 2005, 14%
Light straw colour. Fine nose; mineral and more flowers and fruit-notes. In the mouth this is more powerful than the Tiefenthal. Fine fruit; more fruity, some mineral. But shows less structure with lower acids and more alcohol. Fine wine with a very fine nose.
Riesling Wieland 2005, 14%
Straw colour. Nose shows more honeyed, light botrytis, fruit-notes and a touch mineral. Powerful riesling in the mouth with some fat in the entrance. Lots of fruit and concentration. Fruity and opulent style with honey and some botrytis. Again acids are lower, but this balances the alcohol better with it's body. Fine if you like this style.
Riesling Steindl auslese 2005, 11%
Green/straw colour. Fine fruity nose. Hints of flowers, slate, stone. Fullbodied wine inthe mouth with a light sweetness and balancing acids. Good structure. Fruity style, but with fine minerality and hints of slate. Very good.
Grüner veltliner eiswein 2005, 12,5%
Harvested 13/Dec. Yellow/green colour. Not the most fruity eiswein in the nose. Hints of spice, apricot, some minerals showing. Lightly raisins. In the mouth this is clearly a smaller eiswein. Fruit quite spicy, with hints of sweet apricot, honey. Hints of raisins. Fine acids, not high for an eiswein. Good length. Fine eiswein in the light style. Price is only 12,-E/0,5 L. and it is well worth that money.
Riesling Beerenauslese 1995, 12,5%
Golden colour. Complex nose with much botrytis, light petrol, honey and flowers. Fuller sweet wine here, but again no big BA. But fine complexity in the fruit. Fine acidity and length. Drinking nicely now. Very fine wine which I prefer to the next one.
Riesling Beerenauslese 1999, 14,5%
Golden colour, depper than the previous. Sweeter nose with more botrytis and raisins in the nose. Hints of honey. Powerful and more fat BA in the mouth. More opulent fruit. Much botrytis and hints of honey. But lower acids and a shorter taste. Fine, but lacking the finesse and depth of the 95.
Chardonnay Trockenbeerenauslese 1995, 5,5%
So we end with the freak. This was a special wine to Sepp Mantler. The grapes for this was so dried of botrytis that when it was pressed it merely came out a small bucket of juice. So Sepp Mantler simply threw it back into the press and closed it for two days. Then with the soaking of the grapes the press managed to release som more juice. After this the juice fermented for 2,5 years to reach the allowed minimum and ended up at 5,5% alcohol. Residual sugar is 330 g/L. Acid is above 16 g/L. So if you want a pure and elegant TBA you know where to not look. This has the colour of coca cola. The intence nose shows hints of botrytis, raisins, dark bread, caramel. In the mouth this has an extreme concentration and a very high acidity. Almost like a PX with a eiswein-structure. The concentration is huge, much botrytis, caramel, dark bread, coffee, but also a long and more fruity finish. IMO it is a very interesting wine and with the price of only 33,-E/0,375 L.
I found this tasting very interesting. The wines may lack the great depth of the very best Wachau-wines, but they are interesting and all very true to their soil and microclimate. No doubt Mantlerhof is one of the very finest producers in the Kremstal. It should also be noted that the prices here are much lower than for most Wachau-producers. For the dry wines, most retalied between 8-14 Euro. To me the most interesting wines of the tasting were the roter veltliner, the riesling tiefenthal and the TBA.