Weingut Wieninger Herrenholz Gruner Veltliner, Vienna, Austria

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The Wieninger 2010 Gruner Veltliner Herrenholz exhibits generous juiciness of lettuces and celery accented by toasted pumpkin seed and orange zest. Displaying Riesling-like brightness, it finishes with stimulating hints of salt and stone. This should prove deliciously useful over the next couple of years, and despite its only marginally ripe flavors might surprise any (few) folks who hang on to bottles for longer. Fritz Wieninger’s 2010 collection – like that of 2009 – was literally cut-down by hail (and sadly, several important sites on the Nussberg were savaged again on the eve of my brief stay in Vienna this June). Not that the poor flowering and autumn desiccation – hallmarks that they are of 2010 as a whole – spared Viennese vineyards either. Wieninger’s entire Nussberg holdings produced only 2,000 bottles worth of Riesling, though Gruner Veltliner was thankfully less dramatically reduced; and the overall 2010 crop represented around 40% of mid-term average. (I shall bring readers up-do-date very shortly on the outstanding 2008 and 2009 collections from this estate, whose impressive recent successes are owed in part, notes Wieninger, to cellarmaster Luis Teixeira’s arrival, having ushered in an era of four-hand collaboration.) The difference in grape sugar between lesser- and top-sites was relatively small in 2010, and the cool weather on top of vine trauma from hail made for relatively low finished alcohol across the board. “It’s a very Austrian vintage,” says Wieninger, well aware that the combination of moderate alcohol and pronounced acidity to which he thereby refers has been far from the norm over the past dozen or so years. “I de-acidified selectively, but not at all when it came to Riesling,” he relates, signaling a reversal of the approach taken by many growers, “because I decided that with this grape I could instead play a bit with residual sugar. And I de-acidified a bit even with my reds, otherwise the pHs were so low it would have inhibited malo.” Due to a late arrival on my part for our meeting, I omitted Wieninger’s latest bottlings of Chardonnay from my tasting.Importer: Winebow, Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620

The Herrenberg vineyard has a produced a wonderfully rich Gruner, its rich tropical character broad but never far from freshness. Pear juice and peaches dominate, with just a fleck of spice, pierced through with mouth watering acidity. ——R.V.(12/31/2010)—— 91

Wieninger’s irresistible and excellent value 2007 Gruner Veltliner Herenholz – from the foot of the Bisamberg in the city’s northeastern 21st district – offers flowery, herbal, faintly Sauvignon-like aromas, then displays variety-typical cress and lentil on a refreshing yet glossy-textured palate that is by no means lacking in nuance. A hint of salinity in the finish adds to the fun. Amazingly – perhaps dangerously – this seemingly light and beautifully-balanced wine reveals itself to contain 13% of a controlled substance. You won’t have to close your eyes and imagine yourself in the garden of a Viennese Heurige to enjoy drinking this at home in a wide range of circumstances over the coming year – but you might want to imagine anyway. I did not have a chance to taste in finished form the 2007 Kaasgraben and Nussberg bottlings of Gruner Veltliner. Fritz Wieninger has been the prime dynamo behind whatever over-due recognition the wines of Vienna have garnered over the past decade, and I have been remiss in not visiting with him until last year – too early, unfortunately, to assess certain of the 2007s from his sprawling line-up of cuvees, so the selection below is limited wines that were bottled early, or that I had occasion to revisit. “We are warmer in Vienna than the Wachau or Kamptal,” Wieninger reminded me, “and we can’t wait to harvest our vineyards until November, unless of course we want 15 or 16% alcohol. We need lighter wines, and for that, we have to harvest much earlier – which is unfortunate at times, because aromas are significantly enhanced through later picking, a practice suited to our terroir.” Wieninger seems to have mastered the balancing act that corresponds to this paradox of optimal harvest dates. His lighter wines do not display any unripe flavors.Importer: Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700

From the sandy Herrenholz vineyard north of Vienna, this is a full, open, fruity style of Gruner, from 35-year-old vines. It is ripe, generous and packed with fresh acidity.——R.V.(10/1/2006)—— 89