{"id":54,"date":"2011-07-31T11:13:25","date_gmt":"2011-07-31T11:13:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/?p=54"},"modified":"2011-07-31T12:00:28","modified_gmt":"2011-07-31T12:00:28","slug":"two-austrian-gruner-veltliners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/?p=54","title":{"rendered":"Two Austrian Gruner Veltliners"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Today was the perfect day for pruning the Gruner Veltliner! Not a cloud in the sky and a<\/p>\n

\"Pruning<\/a>

Larry pruning the Gruner<\/p><\/div>\n

gentle tickle of sunlight \u00e2\u20ac\u201c hints of the coming springtime. But it can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be all work and no play, so we planned to celebrate at the end of the day by pulling two corks from a couple of special wines that we have been saving for a tasting.
\n\u00c2\u00a0What were we celebrating? Well, firstly, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had one great day of pruning. And secondly, we have just returned from Sydney having collected a Top Gold in Class and Trophy that was awarded to our \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcBlueblood\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Blaufrankisch 2009 at the Australian Boutique Wine Awards.<\/p>\n

Last posting was all about a tasting of three Gruner Veltliners, all of which were made in the lighter to medium-bodied style. These are wines that retain the freshness and natural zest of this wonderful Austrian grape variety and represent a style that is pure, refreshing and food-friendly. It is, in fact, the style in which our \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcGRU\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Gruner Veltliner has been made.<\/p>\n

Today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s posting has been dedicated to a completely different style of Gruner \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the full-bodied, riper and more opulent style that is also commonly made from this very versatile grape variety.
\nHere the grapes are usually harvested at a full-ripe stage, often from older vines, and then made into wine with processes that add additional body, texture and mouth-feel. All in all, a much fuller style than the classic fresh style.<\/p>\n

\"Franz<\/a>

Franz Hirtzberger Gruner Veltliner<\/p><\/div>\n

Franz Hirtzberger \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Spitz Smaragd 2008<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 13% alcohol \u00e2\u20ac\u201c cork closure.<\/p>\n

Larry:<\/strong> Vibrant lemony-green colour with pungent earthy, nutty, butterscotch nose, infused with caramelised citrus and white pepper. Complex but so fresh that it gets you salivating even before the first sip. Full yet vibrant on the palate with tropical fruits, lashings of white pepper and\u00c2\u00a0wonderful mid-palate texture. Great length.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Marc:<\/strong> The term \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcSmaragd\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 takes its name from the small green lizard that suns itself in the terraced vineyards of the Wachau. Wines classified as \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcSmaragd\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 are picked late and, like their namesake, spend time luxuriously absorbing the sun\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rays. These wines are the speciality of the Wachau \u00e2\u20ac\u201c full-bodied (with a minimum of 12.5% alcohol and reaching up to 14% or more), richly flavoured and often unashamedly opulent.
\nFranz Hirtzberger is one of the Wachau\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s oldest and most established families of wine, and this 2008 Gruner Veltliner from their vineyards at Spitz alongside the Danube is still as fresh as the day it was bottled three years ago.
\nA fine filigree of grapefruit and melon fruit runs like a spine through this supremely elegant wine, with nutty, spicy components adding further depth and complexity.
\nThe wine received minimal intervention from the winemaker, so one is literally tasting the intensive care given to the vines. According to the Hirtzbergers, each vine is visited at least 100 times during the course of the growing season which means that, by the time it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s harvest, those sun-baking green lizards must seem like old friends.<\/p>\n

\"Brundlmayer<\/a>

Brundlmayer Gruner Veltliner<\/p><\/div>\n

Weingut Brundlmayer \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Alte Reben 2008 Kamptal Reserve<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 13.5% alcohol \u00e2\u20ac\u201c cork seal.<\/p>\n

Larry: <\/strong>Bright golden green colour.\u00c2\u00a0 Quite austere on the nose with delicate peppered radish. Palate clean and fresh, yet at the same time wonderfully unctuous. Loads of white pepper, hints of tobacco and grapefruit \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but a bit overly textural on the back palate.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Marc:<\/strong> The Kamptal wine region \u00e2\u20ac\u201c about an hour\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s drive west of Vienna – has its own classification system and its full-bodied Gruner Veltliners are labelled \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcReserve\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, with an alcohol volume of 13% or more. The Brundlmayer family is undoubtedly the most esteemed in the region having achieved an international reputation \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in fact, one wine critic describes their brand as embodying the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcstradivarius of wines\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.
\nThis Gruner Veltliner is produced from select parcels of fruit from their low-yielding vines aged over 50 years, which have been farmed in an eco-friendly manner with organic fertilisers and no synthetic herbicides applied. The vines are trellised close to the ground to benefit from the soil\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s warming influence.
\nThe Brundlmayer winemaking philosophy is one of restraint, which this wine reflects perfectly \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I loved its sumptuous yet nuanced approach, redolent of citrus and pineapple notes, finishing with a distinctly creamy yet grippy texture. Music in a bottle!<\/p>\n

For pre-release allocations of our GRU 2011, and further information,\u00c2\u00a0please go to http:\/\/bit.ly\/ilfxBa<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00c2\u00a0 Today was the perfect day for pruning the Gruner Veltliner! Not a cloud in the sky and a gentle tickle of sunlight \u00e2\u20ac\u201c hints of the coming springtime. But it can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be all work and no play, so we … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,39,5,8],"tags":[37,11,9,38,7],"class_list":["post-54","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adelaide-hills","category-blaufrankisch","category-gruner-veltliner","category-wine","tag-adelaide-hills","tag-blaufrankisch","tag-gru","tag-gruner-veltliner","tag-new-planting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=54"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=54"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=54"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=54"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}