Falstaff Magazin International Nr. 1/2022

wine / GRÜNER VELTLINER

wine / GRÜNER VELTLINER BEST OF GLOBAL GRÜNER VELTLINER 100 2017 F.X. PICHLER UNENDLICH Wachau, Austria Medium yellow-green, silver reflections. Nuances of fresh apricot and blossom honey, tropical fruit, floral touch, an inviting bouquet. Juicy, very elegant, fine fruit expression, silky, fine acid, seems perfectly balanced, mineral and lasting, a wine with a very, very long life ahead. PM fx-pichler.at ••••• 98 2019 HIRTZBERGER SMARAGD RIED HONIVOGL Wachau, Austria Medium greenish yellow, silver reflections. Fresh apple fruit, delicate mango and fine blossom honey, herbal spice with a tobacco background. Full-bodied, powerful, fine texture, ripe honeydew melon, fine acidity, elegant and lasting, mineral finish, absolute ageing potential. PM hirtzberger.com •••• 95 2018 TATOMER MEERESBODEN Santa Barbara County, California Mirabelle and eucalypt make for a vivid opening, followed by more juicy fruit. The palate is slender but comes with lovely texture and a real sense of chalkiness. There is an essential, profound coolness that seems anchored in salt. Absolute freshness pervades everything. Glorious. AK tatomerwines.com ••• 64 falstaff mar – jun 2022 100 2019 PRAGER SMARAGD RIED ZWERITHALER KAMMERGUT Wachau, Austria Medium greenish yellow, silver reflections. Ripe white apple fruit, meadow herbs, hints of mango, lime and orange zest. Complex, juicy, elegant texture, white tropical fruit, fine, fresh acidity, salty-minerality, lingers very long. PM weingutprager.at •••• 99 2019 HIRSCH RIED LAMM Kamptal, Austria Medium greenish yellow, silver reflections. White stone fruit, candied lime zest, nuances of passion fruit and mango, delicately peppery, fresh meadow herbs. Juicy, mineral, fine fruit expression, subtle note of vineyard peach, freshly structured, dark minerality on the finish, tightly meshed finish, absolute ageing potential, a prime example of this terroir. PM weingut-hirsch.at ••• 95 2017 CULMINA UNICUS Okanagan Valley, Canada A sense of melted candlewax on the nose suggests that slight evolution suits this wine rather well. There is Mirabelle plum and lime zest, too, as well as a sense of toastiness and an edge of white pepper. The palate is full-bodied and textured, there is a real pithiness and a superfine, vivid freshness that ensures deliciousness now and further evolution with bottle age. Wow. AK culmina.ca ••• 95 2019 QUARTZ REEF SINGLE VINEYARD Central Otago, New Zealand Subtle fragrance characterises the nose: notes of boxwood blend with juicy Mirabelle and ripe Amalfi lemon. The palate then wows with texture: there is miso and salt, crushed fennel seed and spiky lime. This is the full package, concentrated, fresh, expressive. Lovely now, certain to evolve. AK quartzreef.co.nz ••• Up to EUR / GBP 15 and USD 20 • EUR •••• •• EUR / GBP 15 – 30 and USD 20 – 35 •• / GBP 51 – 100 and USD 61 – 110 ••••• 94 2018 HAHNDORF HILL GRU Adelaide Hills, Australia As if someone had squeezed fresh Amalfi lemon juice over dew-wet moss: this is just so fresh, so appetising. There are hints of pea shoot, too. On the palate there is real texture in the form of pleasantly bitter citrus pith and such lovely freshness. This deserves more bottle age because the incipient evolution and depth is so, so promising, yet so fresh. Wonderful. AK hahndorfhillwinery.com.au ••• 94 2020 ILLAHE VINEYARDS ESTATE Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA Lemon brightness plays on the subtle nose before Mirabelle lends fruitiness. There is a subtle sense of citrus blossom, too. The palate brings citrus but also miso and wax, fine lemon freshness keeps everything on a lifted, breezy note of lightness that is nonetheless anchored in real depth. Very elegant, very memorable in its subtlety and long finish. AK illahevineyards.com •• EUR / GBP 31 – 50 and USD 36 – 60 ••••• above EUR / GBP 100 and USD 110 Photos: Wineries