We tried tonight (2/15/17) some More New White Wines:
1. Weingut Holzapfel GrunerVeltliner Zehenthof (Federspiel; 12%) Wachau 2014: Med.light yellow color w/ small bubbles;
very fragrant/floral/GV/spicy slight white pepper/spicy attractive nose; slight spritz/tingly rather tart quite
floral/GV/spicy slight peppery straight-forward GV flavor; med.long lightly tart floral/GV/spicy/pepper some
metallic/tangy bit spritzy finish; seems to have some CO2 present; a pleasant enough four-square GV at a good price. $22.50 (WM)
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2. Neumayer GrunerVeltliner Der Wein vom Stein Niederosterreich Traisental (14.2%) 2011: Light gold color; beautiful
GV/spicy/floral/white pepper some mineral/flinty/chalky rather complex perfumey nose; lightly tart balanced quite
rich/lush very strong GV/floral/white pepper/spicy bit tangy/flinty/mineral slight caramel rather complex beautiful
flavor; very long/lingering rather intense GV/floral/mango/white pepper some mineral/metallic slight earthy finish;
a rather intense classic rich GV at a very fair price. $49.50
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3. Habit GrunerVeltliner RanchoArroyoPerdidoVnyd/SantaYnezVlly (13.1%; 292 cs; Cabernet vines planted in 1972 &
grafted to Gruner in 2008/own rooted; 100% SS) LosOlivos 2015: Light gold color; slight metallic light fragrant
GV/floral/ripe/mango/spicy very attractive nose; bit soft maybe a bit off-dry lightweight spicy/GV/floral/mango/
ripe some spicy/white pepper quite attractive flavor; ; fairly long slightly soft/off-dry/lush/rich slight tangy
rather spicy/peppery/GV slight perfumed talc finish; would like a bit more acidity & zing; quite an attractive GV;
some like the Solminer GV. $30.00
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3a. Tatomer GrunerVeltliner Meeresboden SBC (13%) SantaMaria 2015: Med.gold color; strong flowery/GV/spicy light
white pepper slight chalky/perfumed talc rather fragrant nose; rather tart/tangy/grapefruity somewhat lean/austere
light GV/floral/peppery/spicy bit mineral/chalky flavor; very long/lingering spicy/floral/GV/white pepper quite
tangy/tart/lean/austere/grapefruity some chalky/mineral finish; quite a nice/lean/austere perfumed GV that seems
a bit green/eviscerated right now; can use several yrs of age yet. $26.00 (WH)
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4. Ebner-Ebenauer GrunerVeltliner Bursting (13.5%) Poysdorf/Weinviertel2015: Med.light gold color; very strong
ripe/pineapple/floral/GV/grapefruitlight mineral/stony rather spicy/white pepper lovelu perfumed nose; lightly
tart balanced strong pineapple/floral/mango/GV light mineral/stony slight metallic/tangy beautiful flavor;
very long/lingering tart bit mineral/stony/perfumed talc strong floral/GV/mango/pineapple some white pepper/spicy
ripe/rich finish; a textbook GV that should go out a few yrs; beautiful GV at a great price. $25.50 (WM)
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5. Feiler-Artinger Neuburger Rust am See/Burgenland (13.5%) 2015: Light gold color; rather ripe very strong floral/
mango/bannanas/pineapple/very fruity slight botrytis/peachy/apricot quite aromatic beautiful nose; lightly tart
quite rich/lush bit botrytis/peachy very strong floral/mango/pineapple slight earthy/stony some complex flavor;
very long/lingering lightly tart rich/lush/mouthfilling intense floral/mango/pineapple some botrytis/peachy bit
stony beautiful/complex finish; seems to have a bit of botrytis and resembles a bit a dry Spatlese; beautiful
wine at a great price. $28.50 (WM)
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6. Lichtenberger-Gonzalez Muschelkalk Weiss Burgenland (12%; www.LichtenbergerGonzalez.At; GrunerVeltliner +
WelschRiesling/PinotBlanc) Breitenbrunn 2014: Light gold color; bit SO2/ozone/pungent/reductive very strong
toasty/smokey/oak slight floral/GV somewhat earthy/herbal rather strange nose; soft rather tangy/metallic
strong oak/smokey slight floral/GV/spicy/peppery rather pungent flavor; long very strong smokey/oak somewhat
herbal/earthy tangy/metallic bit soft light floral/GV finish; a rather weird rendition of GV in which the GV
character seems to be bludgeoned into submission by the oak. $22.90 (WM)
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7. Moric SanktGeorgen GrunerVeltliner Burgenland Qualitatswein (13%; www.Moric.At; L-N1) Von Roland Velich/Grosshoflein
2014: Med.light gold color; intense herbal/GV/floral rather menthol/resiny very perfumed/aromatic quite interesting
even bizarre nose; bit soft very rich/lush herbal/menthol/resiny bit oaked intense GV/floral/white pepper very
unusual/atypical GV flavor; very long intense herbal/resiny bit oaked some GV/peppery/floral/very spicy rather
complex rich/lush/textured finish; a very intense if atypical/bizarre expression of GV; bit pricy at $68.00 (WM)
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8. Weingut Holzapfel Riesling Zehenthof (Federspiel; 12%) 2014: Light gold color w/ a bit of bubbles; strong attractive
R/floral/pineapple quite fragrant attractive nose; lightly tart slight spritzy R/floral/pineapple/mango pleasant
flavor; med.short tangy floral/R/pineapple pleasant finish; the slight CO2 gives it a somewhat shallow/fast
disappearing acidity; a pleasant enough R but just that and a bit on te simple side. $22.50 (WM)
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9. Neumayer Riesling Engelberg/Traisental (12.5%) 2014: Med.light color; slight SO2 very fragrant R/floral/pineapple
light mineral/stony/perfumed talc somewhat spicy very attractive nose; bit soft/fat rich/lush ripe/floral/
pineapple/R rather Rheinpfalz-like maybe a bit off-dry light stony flavor; med.long soft/rich/lush strong
fruity/pineapple/R/floral bit perfumed talc finish; would like a bit more acidity; a pleasant fragrant R but a
bit on the simple side; not nearly as compelling as their GV. $22.50 (WM)
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10. Weingut Neumeister SauvBlanc Klausen/Vulkenland/Steirmark (13.5%; www.Neumeister.cc) Straden 2015: Med.light gold
color; very strong SB/cat pee/kitty litter box very pungent lightly floral/fragrant nose; rather tart very
pungent/SB/herbal/cat pee/kitty liter box some earthy/stony fairly rich flavor; very long pungent/herbal/SB/
kitty liter box/cat pee earthy/stony/loamy fairly tart rich/lush finish; an aggressivly pungent SB not
altogether pleasant but w/ very strong character. $38.50 (WM)
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11. Balgera Chiavennasca IGT: Terrazze Retiche di Sondrio (11%; VitisImprts) Chiuro NV: Very light yellow color;
very strong candied/roasted marshmallows very strange not very attractive nose; quite spritzy very candied/
roasted marshmallows light earthy quite strange flavor; med.long bit off-dry very candied/toasted marshmallows/
burnt marshmallows quite spritzy finish; an utterly bizarre/unattractive sparkler. $23.00 (WE)
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12. Belisario Cambrugiano DOCG: Verdicchio do Mantelica Riserva (13%; ToscoWines) Matelica 2013: Med.gold color;
quite fragrant/floral/spicy some stony/earthy rather perfumed talc quite lovely nose; soft slightly off-dry strong
floral/pineapple/mango lush/ripe mouthfilling flavor; very long rich/lush bit soft strong pineapple/floral/mango/
ripe slight stony/mineral finish; not your typical thin/emaciated Verdicchio; easily the best Verdicchio I've
tried and well-priced. $25.00 (EVN)
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12a. Cantina Valle Tritana Capostrano DOC: Verdicchio di Matelica (12.5%; L.1285; www.CantinaValleTritana.It)
Ofena/Abruzzo 2014: Med.gold color; rather metallic/tinny/cat food can/citric/grapefruity bit stony/earthy
very light nose w/ little fruit; soft bit off-dry metallic/grapefruity/very tangy bit stony/earthy no fruit
flavor; med.short off-dry very grapefruity/metallic bit stony/earthy no fruit finish; a vapid/dull/nothing
white. $13.00 (KK)
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13. Valerio Zenato LeMorette Benedictus DOC: Lugana (13.5%; ToscoWines; Turbiana grape) Peschiera del Garda 2015:
Med.gold color; very strong floral/R-like/spicy very perfumed/loads of fruit slight earthy/stony nose; lightly
tart quite floral/R-like/pineapple/mango rather rich/lush light stony/mineral flavor; very long/lingering ripe/
pineapple/floral/very R-like slight stony finish; pretty much a dead ringer for a ripe R from the Wachau or
Rheinphalz; lovely fragrant white at a very good price. $26.00 (EVN)
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More nonsense from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Two of the last three Italian wines come from EnotecaVinoNostra on VanNess in SanFransisco, the retail arm of
ToscoImports. An excellent source of interesting Italian wines you don't see elsewhere.
The Zenato is not the large Zenato that produces a ton of Valpolicella. This comes from the Lombardy near
the shores of LakeGarda. The variety was originally known as Trebbiano di Lugana, but is now known as Turbiana.
Clearly a variety they should be planting all up&down the coast of Calif.
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2. Holzapfel: Both of these wines seemed to be "refreshed" w/ a CO2 addition. This is designed to "freshen" the wine
and make it seem more acid than it really is. But, to my palate, it seems to be a shallow/ersatz acidity that does
not persist on the palate and fades on the finish.
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3. Neumayer: Another wnry whose wines I've never tried before. They are from the Traisental region, which is on
the "wrong" side of the Wachau. I was most impressed by these two wines. A real find for me.
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4. Habit: This is a new wnry for me. Run by Jeff Fischer, a part-time actor in LA. He makes his small lots of wine
at CurtisWnry. I had this wine by-the-glass at the losOlivosCafe and was underwhelmed by it, but bought a btl
to try w/ my group. It was much better this time around. Not in the same league as the Carlisle, but a very nicely
done first effort.
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5. Moric: I've had a number of the Moric reds, BlauFrankisch & St.Laurent, and they have all been absolutely first-
rate. This was my first Moric white. Winemaker is Roland Velich, a very talented guy.
The label was rather bizarre. The SanktGeorgen was crossed out by a black felt-tip pen. As was the Burgenland
designation. And the Qualitats was likewise crossed out. I have no idea why this. It could be that the missing
parent of GV is now known as St.Georgen and it was removed to avoid confusion of two varietal names. I'm clueless.
This was one very bizarre rendition of GV. It was raised in old Stockinger barrels, an Austrian cooper who is
one of the most highly regarded barrel-builders in the World. On the WineMonger site (www.WineMonger.com), it is
described as being more akin to GrandCru White Burgundy than Wachau Gruner. That comparison seems a bit of a
stretch to me. It may reflect, stylistically in the winemaking, WhiteBurg, perhaps.
Many of the people didn't like this wine, some even compared it to Retsina because of the resiny character.
Even though it was atypical of GV, I liked it quite a lot because of its intensity and complexity. Sometimes,
you have to think outside the box when you're tasting a wine.
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6. Neuberger: This is a natural cross between RoterVeltliner X Sylvaner in the Burgenland. It's a rather rare grape
that you seldom see bttld as a mono-varietal. Feiler-Artinger is a Burgenland producer who is best known for
their dessert wines. In fact, I prefer them to the Kracher stickies. The winemaker is Kurt Feiler. When I was
there in Sept, I just stopped in and there was some old guy sitting there reading a book. I asked if they had wines
available to taste. He kinda grumpily closed his book and led me into a small tasting. He eventually introduced
himself as Hans..the owner. I tasted thru a few of the dry wines and expressed to Hans how much I liked them and
he slowly started to warm up to me. Then I droped the E-bomb...."I'm a friend of Emily Schindler". Immediately,
he lit up like a Christmas tree and became very animated. He hustled off to get his son, Kurt, and brought him
into the tasting room. We chatted for some 30 min, even though he was right in the middle of crush. These are
all wines I would highly recommend if you see them.
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7. WineMonger: This is an importing company located in the Bay area. (www.WineMonger.com). Run by Emily and Stephan
Schindler. They are one of the few importers who do DTC sales. That have an outstanding portfolio of Austrian
and Italian wines, with some excellent French & German producers as well. Highly recommended.
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8. Ebner-Ebenauer: Another new producer for me. Run by MarionEbner on Poysdorf, up in the NE near the Czech border.
I was also impressed by this GV.
Tom
