Susan & I tried these four whites over the weekend:
1. Steiner Schreck Stagard Riesling DAC: Donau/Kremstal (13.0%; Ried Steiner Schreck; Late Release 3.5.2025; http://www.Stagard.At; Wein-Bauer/Franklin Park/IL) Lesehof Stagard/Krems/Donau 2021: Med.dark gold color w/ some suspended tiny bubbles; very fragrant R/floral/mango/pineapple strong Mosel valve oil/petrol some aged R complex mature lovely nose; fairly tart/acidic quite rich/lush some off-dry strong R/floral/pineapple light Mosel valve oil/petrol lovely flavor w/ no signs of dissolved CO2; much like a Spatlese-level Rhingau; a bit on the sweet side but should improve over the next 5-10 yrs. $36.00 (KK)
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2. Ktistinus Oliver Amber wine Balatonboglar (11.5%; 80% Irsai Oliver/20% Furmint; ZRS Wines/Brooklyn/NY) Balatonboglar/Hungary 2021: Light gold color; strong floral/gardenias/marigolds light stony/mineral/saline bit apple/pear slight phenolic/VM bit citric/orangey rather complex nose; quite tart/tangy/acidic some floral/marigolds/herbal/bit gardenias some earthy/stony/mineral bit appley interesting flavor; very long mineral/saline finish that mimics flavor; a quite interesting saline/mineral white that reminds some of Hungarian dry Furmint or a Savoie Apremont but more austere/mineral; quite an interesting white at a great price. $20.00 (KK)
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3. Bloem 90% CheninBlanc/10% Viognier WaO: Paarl/Cape of Good Hope/South Africa (13.0%; http://www.BloemWine.com; Canopy Wines/Piermont/NY) 2024: Light yellow color; strong CB/flowery/grapey light mineral/stony/chalky rather simple fruity nose; tart/tangy mostly CB/flowery/grapey very light body pleasant CB rather uninteresting flavor; med.sort CB/flowery finish that mimics flavor; a pretty vapid expression of CB; watery/dull & uninteresting; not worth the rock-bottom price. $12.49 (KK)
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4. barrel X Riesling feinherb Q Mosel (10.5%; 11.5%; Ap-Nr 2 501 074 19 25; Von Boden/Brooklyn/NY) Weinhaus Peter Lauer/Ayl 2024: Light yellow color; strong flowery/R/mango/pineapple very slight petrol slight chalky/flinty/Mosel bit Liebfraumilch-like flowery nose; soft rather sweet pineapply/R/mango flowery slight stony flavor; med.long soft/sweet pineapple/grapey finish that follows flavor; a pretty simple/dull R that's just a small step above Liebfraumilch or Blue Nun (remember her??); does not speak of Mosel whatsoever; a pretty dull/simple grapey expression of R. overpriced at $28.00 (SFW&S).
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More zisselfrity from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Irsai Oliver: Now there's about as an obscure a grape as you can find. A Hungarian white variety cross-bred in 1930 between table grape Pozsonyi and Pearl of Csaba, originally as a table grape. But it has been found more commonly as a wine grape. Also grown in a few other Central Europe countries. Clearly, this is a grape variety they should be planting all up&down the Coast of Calif.
Tom