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| Wines of Austria |
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| Thursday, 21 February 2008 | |
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Reported by Ian Duncan Guild Director Joe Hatz once again shared his special passion for the wines of Austria. He introduced the evening with anecdotes about his recent travels to the region, the geographic similarities between Ontario and Austria, and the significant shift to quality production since the glycol scandal of 1985. A “Wines From Austria” map with the viticulture areas identified with geographical influences explained was circulated, along with some notes providing background on styles, quality laws, and the history of winemaking in Austria. Each flight was accompanied by bite-sized morsels of food to suit—some sushi, miniature pocket breads with various flavoursome stuffings, and for a sweet ending, biscotti.  The crowd favourite of the initial flight was the fourth and final wine. It was a pale white in colour with fresh crisp acidity, a ripe palate. The herbaceous nose evolved as it opened to a tropical fruit aroma, which some suggested was passion fruit. The varietal was evident to several before it was revealed as the 2006 Skoff “Hochsulz” Sauvignon Blanc. This wine illustrates well the aims of Südsteiermark winemakers to create an international presence with this variety. The second and third wines of the flight were popular classic Rieslings, both from the 2006 vintage and made by the Kamptal producer Aichinger. The Terrassen was somewhat lighter and showed more floral notes while the Rosenberg, which has won a few Austrian wine awards, had more body and a richer fruit core. The Rosenburg was the preferred food match of the flight, working nicely with both a vegetarian maki roll and smoked trout. The first wine of the flight was a Pinot Gris from the Neusiedlersee region. A product of the 2003 vintage, this wine disappointed many as it seemed to have aged poorly with definite deep straw colour, rancio oak and volatile acidity on the nose and palate, but with some green apple and buttery notes in the background.The second flight highlighted unique Austrian white varietals. The first wine was a Domäne Wachau Grūner Veltliner from the 2006 vintage. The simplest wine of the flight had comments on its pleasant spice, light acidity and dusty mineral notes but several tasters felt it was a little out of balance. The next wine in the flight, from the Kamptal producer Aichinger, was also a 2006 Grūner Veltliner. This wine, weighty and more concentrated, elicited a wide range of comments on aromas and flavours from white pepper, a dry pickle to yellow peach fruit. The third wine, Thomas Leithner’s ‘Langenloiser’ was also a Grūner Veltliner, but from the earlier 2001 vintage. This too was a popular wine, well concentrated but with evident character of fine bottle aging. The last wine of the flight, the 2006 ‘Mandel-hőh’ from Stadlmann of the Thermenregion, showed off some fine qualities of the rare varietal Zierfandler. A favourite with the food—caramelized onion with gruyere, and grilled eggplant with roasted tomato and chevre—it reminded several of a hefty and well oaked Pinot Gris. Five reds for the final flight were accompanied by rosemary crusted roast pork with potato-apple rosti and carrots. The first wine was a 2004 Zweigelt from Lenz Moser. It had good typical colour, the aroma and flavours of licorice/anise and bit of smoke, with a notable bitter finish. From the comments from the group, it sounded like it was the preferred match with the food. The next wine, a 2005 St. Laurent from Hienrich, was ripe with clove/spice aromas and definite tannin, though some said that it seemed a bit green on the nose and palate. The third wine, a 2005 Blaufränkisch from Familie Anton IBY, was the favourite of the flight. The full sweet-tart red berry qualities and barrel aromas showed well. The fourth wine was the Merlot ‘Privatkeller’ 2004 made at Schloss Gobelsburg by Michael Moosbrugger, Falstaff’s winemaker of the year in 2006. Of the flight, this one needed some air but eventually provided typical dark plum characteristics with a smokey mocha from toasted barrels. The final wine of the flight was the 2001 Josef Pöckl ‘Admiral’—a blend of native Austrian grapes (Zwiegelt and Blaufränkisch) with 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. The consensus of the group was that this wine had substantial concentration with good tannins, but also had the unfortunate greenness typical of underripe Cabernets.These last two of the flight exemplify the challenges for Austrian winemakers (and their Ontario counterparts) in embracing the “International” Bordeaux varietals. The evening closed with a TBA Reisling from Lenz Moser. After three blind flights requiring thoughtful study the group was happy to simply enjoy this fine botrytis-spiced apricot flavoured treat with the accompanying pistachio, cranberry and apricot biscotti. The winesFlight 1s.Campino, Pinot Gris, 2003, peisovin.doc, Neusiedlersee Aichinger, Riesling von den Terrassen, 2006, Kamptal Aichinger, Riesling Rosenberg, 2006, Kamptal Walter Skoff, Sauvignon Blanc ‘Hochsulz’ 2006, Südsteiermark Food: sushi, and smoked trout Flight 2 Domäne Wachau, Grūner Veltliner ‘Loibenberg’ Federspiel, 2006, Wachau Aichinger, Grūner Veltliner, 2006, Kamptal Thomas Leithner, Grūner Veltliner ‘Langenloiser’, 2001, Kamptal Stadlmann, Zierfandler ‘Mandel-hőh’, 2006, Thermenregion Food: Carmellized onion with gruyere, and grilled eggplant with roasted tomato with chevre Flight 3 Lenz Moser, Prestige Blauer Zweigelt Reserve, 2004, Burgenland Heinrich, St. Laurent, 2005, Burgenland Familie Anton IBY, Blaufränkisch ‘Chevalier’, 2005, Mittelburgenland Schloss Gobelsburg, Merlot ‘Privatkeller’, 2004, Langenlois, Kamptal Josef Pöckl, ‘Admiral’, 2001, Burgenland (70% Zweigelt, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Blaufränkisch) Food: Rosemary crusted roast pork with potato-apple rosti and carrots Flight 4 Lenz Moser, Prestige TBA, 2004, Burgenland Food: biscotti with pistacho, cranberries and apricot |
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