Wine & Spirits - June 2021 - 57

gentled by lees, it's a big, broad, stylish wine
that would benefit from age. § Skurnik Wines
& Spirits, NY
524296

90 | Müller-Catoir

$46

2019 Pfalz Haardt Bürgergarten Erste
Lage Riesling Trocken ^ This pads its steely,
angular frame with orange-blossom scents
and lemon-curd flavor. It feels almost electric, vibrating with zingy acidity and flooded
with light. § Skurnik Wines & Spirits, NY
524299

90 | von Winning

$23

2019 Pfalz Riesling Trocken ^ With a spice
market's worth of aromas, this is gingery and
dry, lasting on firm, stony underpinnings. §
Skurnik Wines & Spirits, NY
524301
88 Darting
$18/1L (Best Buy)
2019 Pfalz Dürkheimer Fronhof Riesling
Kabinett Trocken ^ This is a terrific springtime party pour, a wine in a liter bottle that
has presence, firmness and juiciness in its
limey herbal-floral-mineral flavors. § Skurnik
Wines & Spirits, NY

|

KABINETT
524291

90 | Darting

$18

2019 Pfalz Dürkheimer Hochbenn Riesling Kabinett (Best Buy) ^ With its light, airy
texture and crisp herbal and mineral flavors,
this is a refreshing summer-weight Kabinett.
Play those herbal tones off a Vietnamesestyled fish sauté showered in herbs. § Skurnik
Wines & Spirits, NY

RH E I N H E S S E N
524304

87 | Louis Guntrum

$16

2018 Rheinhessen Dry Riesling (Best Buy) ^
Limey and sweeter than the " dry " on the
label suggests, this is a fresh, simple riesling
with snappy acidity. § Broadbent Selections,
Richmond, VA
524311

86 | Nein Lives

$15

2019 Rheinhessen Riesling (Best Buy) ^
Plump with soft citrus flavors, this is as
friendly and easy-going as the cat-cartoon
label suggests. § Regal Wine Imports, Moorestown, NJ ●

Focus
Austrian
Grüner Veltliner
Our blind panels tasted 84 new-release Austrian Grüner Veltliner wines for this issue. Tara
Q. Thomas, our critic for Austrian wines, rated 23 as exceptional (90+) and 10 as Best
Buys. Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com.

KA MPTAL
524257

97 | Schloss Gobelsburg

$49

2019 Kamptal Ried Renner 1 ÖTW Grüner
Veltliner ^ The Renner vineyard (ried) is an
extension of the Gaisberg, a riesling stronghold near Schloss Gobelsburg. The parcel
stands out for its deep loess soils, but shares
the bedrock of paragneiss, mica and amphibolite of Renner. The combination makes for
an especially elegant grüner veltliner: This
2019 feels like sunshine, sheer and bright,
with a clarity to the flavors that makes them
feel never-ending; it tastes like spring in its
notes of hay and wildflowers, fennel and
sage. For all its exuberance, the wine feels
measured, the flavors paced out so that the
wine lasts for days after opening, just as
vibrant as it was on day one. This should age
especially well, though it's so delicious now
it's hard to imagine why you'd wait. § Skurnik
Wines & Spirits, NY
524258

95 | Hirsch

$61

2019 Kamptal Ried Lamm Grüner Veltliner ^ Lamm is local dialect for loam, which
distinguishes this vineyard. Protected by
the Heiligenstein hill behind it, the deepsoiled, south-facing vineyard is a sweet spot
for grüner veltliner. The Hirsches' parcels
have been farmed under organics since the
1970s, and under biodynamics since the
early 2000s, when Johannes Hirsch helped
found Respekt, an association of biodynamic
producers. He strives for pristine fruit, with
no botrytis and fully ripe stems, so that he
can press all of his wines in whole bunches;
he leaves them long on the lees as well, in
a mix of stainless steel and wooden barrels. His 2019 is warm and inviting from the
very first whiff, playing a mix of lees, florals
and spice off grüner veltliner's deep vegetal
tones. They meet in a mass of quietly succulent pear and quince flavors, with a sense of
deep, rich earth adding substance. § Skurnik
Wines & Spirits, NY
524255

95 | Schloss Gobelsburg

$28

94 | Hirsch

$42

93 | Hirsch

$27

93 | Leindl

$26

2019 Kamptal Ried Steinsetz Grüner Veltliner ^ Steinsetz is set apart from its neighbors
by the plethora of round quartzite stones
mixed in under the loess. A cool site, it gives
a lean, lithe grüner veltliner, as this 2019
readily shows. The wine sings in notes of
lemon and herb, taut and clear, while mineral notes run underneath, giving the wine a
firm grounding. A year in Austrian oak casks
has taken the edges off the acidity, though
the wine remains racy and energetic, lasting
with clarity and brightness. § Skurnik Wines &
Spirits, NY
524256
2019 Kamptal Ried Gaisberg Grüner Veltliner ^ This is grüner veltliner in all its compelling weirdness: It tastes of bay leaves and
sage, peas and lentils, with a flinty, smoky
mineral sense. The fruit element emerges
with air-cider apple and green pear, with
a hint of tart red berries-but the overall
impression is earthy, musky and wild, with
a lemon-pithy acidity that keeps it tightly
wound. Hold this in the cellar for a few years;
there's lots more to come. § Skurnik Wines &
Spirits, NY
524253
2019 Kamptal Kammern Grüner Veltliner ^ Johannes Hirsch blends fruit from several of his first-class vineyard sites-including Lamm and Gaisberg-for this wine. The
result in 2019 is opulent, a grüner veltliner
that's lemon-bright and creamy. A leesy richness builds into the wine, adding texture
without weight, so that it feels like a cloud
in the mouth, if clouds were made of candied
lemon peel, powdered rocks and meringue. §
Skurnik Wines & Spirits, NY
523577
2019 Kamptal Langenlois Grüner Veltliner ^ Georg Leindl worked at Weingut Nigl
before striking out on his own in 2013; he
now farms 29 acres in and around Langenlois, including parcels in Seeberg and Heili-

WINE & SPIRITS

JUNE 2021

57
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Wine & Spirits - June 2021

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