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Salomon Undhof, Grüner Veltliner, Wachtberg Erste Lage ÖTW

Lower Austria, Austria 2013 (750mL)
$25.00
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Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
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Alcohol
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Salomon Undhof, Grüner Veltliner, Wachtberg Erste Lage ÖTW


This wine comes from serious pedigree. Back in 1992, Salomon Undhof helped start the association of  Traditionsweingüter Österreich—an organization dedicated to producing only the highest quality Austrian wines from the most esteemed vineyard sites in their most prized winegrowing regions. For over two decades, this organization has studied vineyard sites to determine which vines are quality enough to be given the esteemed ÖTW classification, basically the equivalent of Grand Cru. The 2013 Wachtberg Grüner Veltliner is a bottling that reflects this prestigious classification from a perfectly exposed terraced vineyard in the Kremstal. Denoted by the Erste Lage ÖTW label on the bottle, the organization guarantees the superiority of these wines. While the styles of these wines can vary, depending on the location of the vineyard, the quality of each and every wine is usually incredible, but vintage and producer is important as usual. This is one of the best values we have offered to date for a top quality Austrian wine from a historic estate who has been producing wine for 7 generations. 

The Salomon Undhof “Wachtberg” Grüner Veltliner has a concentrated light golden yellow core that moves to green reflections on the rim. The aromatics are very lively and floral, including notes of white peach pit, green and yellow apple, melon peel, white pepper, radish leaf, cucumber, white flowers, a touch of honeysuckle and crushed rocks. The dense palate is rich, but immediately balanced by perfectly balanced acidity along with flavors of wild white flowers, green tropical fruits, spice and citrus; this wine is about as perfect of a white wine as I could imagine and this is a candidate for a desert island wine I could drink all day every day. I will certainly be drinking a lot of this wine over the next year and I also cannot wait to see how it develops with age. Please decant this Grüner for 20 minutes and then serve in white wine stems at just below cellar temperature (45-50F). Enjoy some today and do yourself a favor by putting away a few bottles in the cellar to enjoy in 10-15 years from now; each year, this wine is guaranteed to become more complex, as long as it is stored properly. For a traditional Austrian wine and food pairing, enjoy this Grüner with classic pork schnitzel served alongside potatoes.
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Country
Austria
Region
Lower Austria
Sub-Region
AustriaKremstal
Soil
Löss and Gneiss
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Grüner Veltliner
Alcohol
12.5
OAK
Neutral

Austria

Northeastern Austria

Weinviertel

Considered by most to be the oldest growing zone in Austria, Weinviertel is also, geographically, the largest in the country and covers the vast, northeastern expanse of Lower Austria, stretching from the western border of Slovakia, following the Danube inland and veering up to the southern border of Czechia. Its name, which translates to “wine quarter,” reflects the region’s rich, ancient wine heritage and, according to the Weinviertel DAC website, there are “7,000 years of artifacts to prove it.”

Northeastern Austria

Wachau

Austria’s Wachau appellation is the country’s most acclaimed region. About an hour northwest of Vienna along the Danube River, the vista of the steep, terraced vineyards of the Wachau creates a magnificent landscape akin to a verdant, ancient amphitheater—it is a UNESCO World Heritage site, after all. With rich and unique soils here of löess and gneiss, which lend vivid minerality to the wine.

Eastern Austria

Burgenland

The Burgenland appellation, running along Austria’s border with Hungary southeast of Vienna, has a diverse topography and a mix of soils, with more primary rock and slate at higher locations and dense loams in the rolling hills that extend toward the Pannonian plain.

Southeastern Austria

Steiermark

The region of Styria (Steiermark) is in southeastern Austria which sits near the border with Slovenia. This area is studded with long-extinct volcanoes whose deposits are a key component of the local soils and the vineyards benefit from a classic Austrian push-pull of cool Alpine air and warmer “Pannonian” currents from the east.

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