David Lawrason’s Weekly Wine Pick: a classy Austrian white
Bründlmayer 2010 Kamptaler Terrassen Grüner Veltliner
$19.95 | Kamptal, Austria | 90 points
While The Donald was cutting the ribbon downstairs, Austria’s wine marketers were christening the Trump International Tower with its first public wine tasting—and a great show it was, especially when it came to Austria’s signature grüner veltliner, a food-friendly white grape. This one, from a leading producer, is one of the few currently available at Vintages.
The taste: Expect a reserved but complex nose with grüner’s characteristic light peppery spice and tobacco, amid yellow plum fruit. It’s quite classy and poised, with a fairly rich palate but a nice sense of firmness, and mouth-watering minerality. It fits somewhere between chardonnay and riesling in the general spectrum of whites.
How to drink it: This could age well for up to five years, but is fine to drink now. The wine will pair nicely with fairly rich fish dishes, poultry and veal. It will also work with sushi and more subtle Asian recipes. Be careful not to over-chill the bottle, which will rob the wine of its subtleties.
