Category Archives: Tasting Notes

Notes on wines I have tasted

April 7, 2013 · 10:41 pm

Weingut Nigl – 12/03/2012

The 2011 gruner veltliner wines all exhibit very green spicy fruit aromatics and great purity and freshness on the palate.

Alte Reben Gruner Veltliner 2010
Much more ripe tropical stone fruit nose, with more volume and fruit sweetness on the palate

Privat Sentfenberger Pelligren Erste Lage 2010
A bold nutty oily fruit concentration, and was actually closer to a riesling in style.

Dornleiten Riesling 2011
Very delicate with a nice floral and lime sherbert nose, but looking a little green at the moment.

Senftenberger Piri Riesling 2011
Had a lot in common with the GV from the same site, showing earthy minerality with a sharp berry and quince fruit character.

Privat Riesling 2010
A very heady and creamy honey aroma, wonderfully rich and ripe but still very fresh and mineralic.

Pinot Noir 2009
Very earthy, meaty and mushroomy, with depth and complexity, but it was very difficult to see any fruit and was a little clunky.

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April 7, 2013 · 10:37 pm

Prager – 12/03/2012

There are two federspiel quality wines – the Hinter der Burg Gruner Veltliner and the Steinriegl Riesling – which are sourced from the two largest single vineyards. The quality of these wines is as good as any smaragd wine I have tasted from other producers, showing depth concentration and personality.

There are three particular gruner veltliner wines which are made from specific parcels within the Achleiten vineyard, and amazingly all have their own unique personality.

Achleiten 2011
Very bright and floral, full of heady inspiration.

Wachstum Bodenstein 2011
More concentrated in the earthy savoury minerality, showing a slightly salty white meat complexity with quince and grapefruit elements.

Achleiten Stock Kulture 2011
An intense and rich fruit nose of white berries and interestingly tomato juice.

The smaragd riesling wines are all of purity and intensity, with the most developed and yet balanced fruit of all the rieslings I have tasted in Austria.

The Klaus in particular was very closed in its smoked meat and earthy texture and viscosity, in an almost Spartan-like stoicism.

Soil composition of one of the Prager vineyards

Soil composition of one of the Prager vineyards

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April 7, 2013 · 10:30 pm

Franz Hirtzberger – 13/03/2012

Rotes Tor Federspiel Gruner Veltliner 2011
A deep berried spice nose, very subtle but with bright flinty minerality.

Rotes Tor Smaragd Gruner Veltliner 2011
Much more texture and volume, and was rich in a stone fruit earthy style.

Axpoint 2011
Significantly more closed than the others, and showed more pear fruit and opulence, and more integrated alcohol than the Rotes Tor.

Steinterrassen Federspiel Riesling 2011
Suffering from bottle shock having only been bottled a few weeks before, and so was a little closed and reductive on the nose. There were some nice floral citrus notes, and was very tight and fresh on the palate.

Hochrain Smaragd Riesling 2011
Lovely cherry blossom sherbet concentration on the nose, and on the palate had good weight and balance with a stone fruit delicacy.

Above some of he Franz Hirtzberger vineyards

Above some of he Franz Hirtzberger vineyards

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April 7, 2013 · 10:16 pm

Tiefenbrunner – 19/03/2012

Pinot Bianco 2011
Actually had complexity and character in comparison to their equivalents north of the Alps.

Pinot Grigio 2011
Somewhere between the more familiar Italian style of crispness and freshness, and the rich slightly sweet alcoholic pinot gris style of Alsace. Texture and complexity, but dry and far from cloying. The higher up in quality with these varieties, the denser and more complex they become and the higher the potential for ageing.

Kirchleiten Sauvignon 2010 and 2011
Both on the sweaty and reductive side, with some complexity but lacking finesse and restraint.

Feldmarschall Muller Thurgau 2010, 2008 and 2007
Showed the potential for ageing, but also the need to have a cool and long vintage, as the 2007 was slightly too warm and the wine was falling away.

Pinot Nero Riserva 2009
Quite a robust caramel and coconut nose, showing a little too much oak and a tad heavy-handed on the tannins.

Lagrein Riserva 2009
By comparison is very full and complex, with soft tannins and great acids but a tad closed and youthful. It is a wine to be drunk now and cellared for later.

Linticlarus Cuvee 2009
A blend of Bordeaux varieties, had a slight menthol black olive nose and quite intense tannin and acidity, which has a lot to do with it being cabernet franc led.

Riserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
Wonderful dark earthy nose with serious depth and complexity a soft tannins.

Some ines destined for Australia

Some ines destined for Australia

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April 7, 2013 · 10:09 pm

Hofstatter – 20/03/2012

Kolbenhoff Gewurztraminer 2010
A nice subtle and earthy density, quite bold and textural without sweetness or overt viscosity.

Barthenau Vigna Ste. Michelle Pinot Bianco 2009
Showed very clean pure and fresh citrus notes on the nose, but with very intense crunchy acids and concentration of fruit and texture on the palate.

Kolbenhofer Vernatsch/Schiava 2010
Very light closed nose, soft light tannins and fruit, and is a wine that would go great with tomato based dishes.

Barthenau Pinot Nero 2007
Reductive red cherry tightness on the nose, depth and solid fruit, but at the moment the alcohol and oak are a little strong.

Steinraffler Lagrein 2008
Soft and mellow, with powerful yet supple tannins, but was a little simple and lacked depth and personality.

Hofstatter wine bar

Hofstatter wine bar

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April 7, 2013 · 4:33 pm

Alois Lageder – 20/03/2012

Gaun Chardonnay 2011
Very flinty and fresh, with exceptional balance on the palate, you wouldn’t know that it had 100% malolactic fermentation.

Porer Pinot Grigio 2011
Earthy and red berry concentration, and was softer and deeper than its equivalent in the Alois Lageder range.

Krafuss Pinot Noir 2008
Very elegant and light, with fantastic structure and personality

Lindenberg Lagrein 2008
Structure elegance and supple tannins.

The historic castle with the Dolomites behind

The historic castle with the Dolomites behind

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April 7, 2013 · 3:59 pm

Elena Walch – 20/03/2012

Castel Ringberg Pinot Grigio 2010
A slightly creamy orchard fruit richness on the nose, with finesse and a hint of sweet spice on the palate.

Selezione Gewürztraminer 2011
A talcy classic gwt nose with some rose petal and turkish delight, and had great balance between opulence and freshness on the palate.

Selezione Lagrein 2010
Juicy and intense black fruit and spice notes, had very bold tannins on the front palate but clean and fresh on the back.

Kermesse 2007
A blend of 20% of each of syrah, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot and lagrein, is robust in oak character but it is much better integrated with the fuller fruit and tannin elements.

The Elena Walch

The Elena Walch

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April 7, 2013 · 3:43 pm

Manincor – 21/03/2012

Eichhorn Pinot Bianco 2010
Deep but delicately youthful and closed, with balanced texture and concentrated harmony.

Sophie Chardonnay 2010
Very contained leesy citrus nose, showing lemon curd and peach skin characters, retaining some crispness with the oak and lees texture influence.

Di Lieben Eich Sauvignon 2010
Bright mineral notes reminiscent of chablis, purity and elegance with texture and restraint to boot.

Mason Pinot Nero 2009
Very delicate, almost too quiet on the nose, with fresh acids and light tannins and fruit.

Mason di Mason Pinot Nero 2009
By comparison had a much stalkier and earthier concentration on the nose, showing at the same time ruby-red cherry and mineral notes, with more ageing potential.

Cassiano 2009
Equal blend of syrah, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot and tempranillo. Full yet bright, soft and mellow yet tannic and warm, dense but not heavy or alcoholic, it had great focus and complexity and will age wonderfully.

Bio-dynamic lawn mowers

Bio-dynamic lawn mowers

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April 7, 2013 · 3:32 pm

Cantina Terlano – 21/03/2012

Terlaner 2011 DOCG
A blend of pinot bianco (60%), chardonnay (30%) and sauvignon blanc (10%). Bright juicy yellow apple nose, light yet rich and textural on the palate with some nice warmth and ripeness.

Vorberg Pinot Bianco Riserva 2009
Very closed subtle nose, but on the palate had great focus, purity and restraint, with a lightly creamy lees derived texture.

Vorberg Pinot Bianco Riserva 2004
A lot bolder with stone fruit and more prominent oak, and looked a little clunky.

Chardonnay 1999
Sat on lees for ten years in tank, extremely subtle and hauntingly familiar with soft and gentle acids but plenty of life left in it.

Lagrein Rose 2011
Lovely and fresh, great fruit characters and a savoury edge, a bit dark and stormy too.

Gries Lagrein Riserva 2009
Lovely and soft on the palate, great intensity and spice, full in fruit without being too heavy.

Porphyr Lagrein Riserva 2009
A deeper chocolate spice element, fuller and more intense on the palate, showing more oak as well.

The Cantina Terlano range

The Cantina Terlano range

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April 7, 2013 · 3:18 pm

Zenato – 23/03/2012

Lugana 2008
100% trebbiano, which had a very ripe honeyed lemon barley nose, robust rich weight and texture partly from oak, and seemed somewhat aggressive and too heavily worked.

Valpolicella Superiore 2009
A very full dark plum and currant nose, brightness and intensity at the same time, with good firm but soft tannins.

Ripassa Superiore 2009
The same intensity but a more earthy character, with some dark floral notes and a little warmth that will settle down given time.

Cresasso 2005
100% corvina, bold and tannic, oak and alcohol very well-integrated but looking a little too macerated and not enough fruit.

Amarone Classico 2007
Dense spicy jammy nose, very big and powerful on the front but a little disjointed and fruit sweet on the back. It is difficult to see the balance of acidity and fruit in this wine.

I love this kind of tasting, unique to Italy

I love this kind of tasting, unique to Italy

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