Last Sunday, the 14th, Anne and I attended the Austin Wine Salon held at FINO on the patio. The theme was Austrian whites and Spanish reds. We participated in three flights. The first flight was a tasting of Austrian Riesling and Grüner Veltliner, followed by classic Rioja [Torre Muga vs. Lopez de Heredia], then a selection of Ribera del Duero.

I loved this setting, it was a cloudy, cool afternoon and the warmth from the overhead heaters was sublime. Thank you, Emmett and Lisa Fox for hosting this event. Of course, I love Spanish wines, but what stole the show for me was the Austrian lineup, in particular, the 2000 F.X. Pichler Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Loibner Berg [some producers such as Emmerich Knoll display this vineyard as Loibenberg; it’s the same vineyard].

Analysis
Not as golden or deep in color as I would expect, still very clear-straw-green. The nose was green apple skin, lemon, tart yellow apple flesh, then horseradish meets cardamom, white pepper and gravel dust. The palate was ridiculous: all the mentioned aromatics displayed, while adding honeysuckle and pollen. This thickly textured, powerful yet elegant wine displayed almost high acidity, which accentuated what felt like a blanket of powdered gravel, white pepper and cardamom. The finish was crazy long.

You may know that the 2000 vintage in the Wachau had botrytis issues. True, but I can assure you there was no noble rot in this wine. The wine (above) is the one on the far right in the bottle and the far left in the glass. Also tasted were:

• 2008 Nikolaihof Grüner Veltliner Hefeabzug, Wachau
• 1997 Prager Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Weissenkirchener ???, Wachau; unfortunately, I didn’t get name of the ried (vineyard), but this wasn’t showing very well, it went cidery and oxidized. Bummer.
• 1997 Bründlmayer Riesling Zöbinger Heiligenstein Alte Reben (meaning “old vines”), Kamptal
• 1999 Nigl Riesling Senftenberger Piri, Kremstal

  To all the collectors who donated this wine: Thank You. Your generosity blows Anne and me away. Unbelievable!

When Dr. Glass speaks people listen.

Anthony Garcia
www.wineisdivine.com