2021 Weingut Tegernseerhof, Gruner Veltliner, Durnstein, Federspiel, Austria.
This 2021 Tegernseerhof Federspiel Gruner Veltliner is pure, vibrant and crisp with a classic array of lemon/lime, tangy stone fruit, melon and unripe peach fruits as well as mineral, bitter almond, herbs and spice notes in a fine light bodied white wine that is great with Spring and Summer cuisine. Tegernseerhof can always be counted on for quality and stylish offerings, as this Gruner shows and I always enjoy both their Gruners and Rieslings, which are bone dry and energy filled efforts that never fail to deliver the goods. Martin Mittelbach, the 5th generation vigneron here at the historic Tegernseerhof, which has been an historic estate for close to a thousand years in the Wachau region of Austria and his latest wines are a stunning set of jewels that highlight his talents with crystalline clarity. Mittebach, who farms all organic, picks his Gruner grapes and rigorously sorts them with great care taken to weed out any botrytis grapes and then vinifies and raises them exclusively in stainless steel.

The Gruner Veltliner Federspiel comes from the town of Durnstein, where the Tegernseerhof estate is located and sites that have a complex mix of soils from loess to alluvial sands with vines in both hillside terraces and some flatland parcels, which gives the wine balance and with a nice tension between ripe and savory elements. In Tegernseerhof’s cellar Martin Mittelbach allows the wines to ferment naturally in tank and this Durnstein Gruner sees a short elevage on the lees and is reductive in style with a touch of captured CO2, making for a traditional racy Federspiel, which is typically about 12% natural alcohol. As this ultra pale greenish 2021 version opens up in the glass in gains more aromatic charms, lightly floral and adds a kiss of saline and a stony quality that makes it great with briny oysters and or mussels. This lip smacking white is very refreshing and a solid value, I highly recommend it and see it drinking well, as it does right now, over the next few years, it provides excellent refreshment on the palate and will be super with picnics and starter courses. The climate and or terroir here is influenced by the mighty Danube that flows past these exceptional vineyards and the Tegernseerhof wines very much express a sense of place, with this one being, an entry level estate wine, a great way to start exploring the collection.
($26 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

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