Weingut Ludwig Neumayer Ried Rothenbart Riesling, Traisental, Austria

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The Neumayer 2010 Riesling Rothenbart is ultra-mineral its impression of chalky crushed stone infusion and savory, saline, saliva-inducing shrimp shell reduction. Juicy lime, lemon, gooseberry, and grapefruit flood the substantial but vivacious palate, bringing to the finish almost sizzling zesty piquancy. This impressive and invigorating Riesling ought to be worth following for at least half a dozen years. Ludwig Neumayer de-acidified at the lower end of his portfolio, especially in Riesling, but the results retain plenty of pep and incisive refreshment. Given the high extract that resulted from lots of rain, he notes, there was lots of buffering for the acids, and the thick skins and paucity of juice also had an ameliorative effect on acidity, effectively enhancing skin contact even in those grapes that were almost immediately pressed. “In fact,” notes Neumayer, “the material was so dense that you could only press very slowly.” Although his top Rieslings fermented through February, like the rest of this collection they were bottled already in April.Importer: Winemonger, Los Angeles, CA www.winemonger.com

The 2007 Riesling Rothenbart leads with lovely, pungent, site-typical suggestions of flowers, kumquat and orange zest, all of which reprise in a long, lip-smacking finish. A faintly green pungency suggestive of oregano hangs over this, appropriate to a wine of refreshment, cool restraint in ripeness, yet stimulating intensity of flavor. This should be especially interesting to follow and to experiment with, but I suspect this should be done within the next 2-3 years. On account of the hot, dry July, Neumayer says he only did one spraying against mildew and almost no manicuring of the foliage. He picked well into October, since he did not find he was risking such high potential alcohol as his 2006s had reached already in the early days of that month. These wines have what he calls the “cracking” of acidity that invigorates and refreshes. (Note that because of a change in importers at the beginning of this year, prices on these wines were not yet available to me, and the wines themselves will only begin arriving later in the year. Readers should consult my reviews of the 2006s in issue 177 for a ballpark idea of eventual retail prices.) The wines of this years’ Riesling collection chez Neumayer were all very slow to ferment and ended up completely dry at the upper twelve’s in alcohol.Importer: Winemonger, Los Angeles, CA; www.winemonger.com

The 2006 Riesling Rothenbart both smells as well as tastes tart, featuring gooseberry and green tomato, grapefruit, and its zest. A bright, pungent palate personality leads to a positively sizzling, zesty finish. This rocky site engendered a real severity of concentration and I would not re-visit this until it had spent 12-18 months in bottle. Neumayer reports that a warm wind blew through the Traisental in the last days of September, after which he began picking on October 3; just over a month later, he was finished. I have been an enthusiastic proponent of the Sauvignon experiments of Neumayer and a number of Danubian growers, but it is impossible to overlook the fact that - in U.S. dollars, at least - excellent Sancerre can still be had for not much more than half the price of the Giess, and that with the Stein, we are in Dagueneau territory. Austrian Sauvignon outside of Styria may still count as an exotic, but if the wine is excellent, its price tends to be set with the high tariff that applies to single-vineyard Styrian Sauvignon in mind.Importer: Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700

When Neumayer’s 2005 Riesling Rothenbart opened up with tangerine rind and Szechuan pepper, I thought for a moment perhaps I had the grape varieties reversed today and had now arrived at the Gruner Veltliner. There is an ethereal botrytis-induced smoky, honeyed note hovering over the glass as well. On the palate, this is juicy and mouthfilling with a wonderful sweetness of fruit, finishing vividly with pepper, smoke, honey, and tangerine familiar from the nose, and a decidedly chalky mineral substrate that cannot help but turn the taster’s thoughts toward the rocky conglomerate slope on which it is grown. Importer: Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700

2004 Riesling Rothenbart offers pungent citrus oil aromas leading to a firmly-textured but luscious, bright, juicy citrus palate impression. Vivid, palate-staining, lip-smacking notes of tangerine and lemon right down to their pips complete the picture of this strikingly single-minded, but ravishingly long Riesling. Neumayer, located in the little known Traisental south of Krems, has been one of my personal favorite sources for Austrian wine, so it is a pleasure to report that he now has an American importer. Importer: Weygandt-Metzler Importing, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800