Austria in Perfect Clarity
2010 Alzinger: Riesling and Grüner Veltliner
"Wachau 2010 is a candidate for greatness."
Let me begin with a simple sentence: These are perhaps my favorite Austrian wines, scarcity be damned.
Leo Alzinger and his son, Leo Alzinger, make wines that are Saar-like in their clarity, finely woven, porcelain creations that softly hum notes of fresh green fruit, forest and mineral. They display an herbal-salt-earth combination that is for me about as mysterious and pure and enchanting and awesome as it gets.
These are not grand wines; they are detailed, nuanced, whispering beauties. Seriously, for anyone that has enjoyed the wines of Egon Müller, Lauer, Von Othegraven, Zilliken, etc, the angelic wines of Alzinger are WELL worth trying. Few wines (outside of the Saar), match their combination of intensity with needle-fine detail, with extreme focus.
These wines are meditative - Theise has a good line (shocking, I know): "You wouldn't be surprised if the cellarmaster were the Dalai Lama."
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The 2010 vintage in Austria was difficult and it's going to be largely misunderstood in the U.S. for a number of reasons. First, there is just such little wine. Even if the vintage was touted by Oprah and every Grüner came with a free car, there is just not going to be enough in the U.S. market to make waves.
Second - it is a vintage where a lot of not much ended up very good. To quote Thiese's vintage report: "It was an unusually cold vintage, all the way from flowering to harvest. But it was also a mostly clean vintage."
Things got better as you headed West. Again, quoting Theise: "Wachau 2010 is a candidate for greatness." The general style seems to be in line with 2007; ripeness as an element defined by the structure, by the force. (Keep in mind 2007 is shaping up to be one of the greats of the decade.)
Yes, this is one of the greatest vintages for Grüner in a long time, yet, just to make your buying decisions as tough as possible, Theise writes that at Alzinger, "the Rieslings were (even) better than the GrüVes. I can't say why, and it took me by surprise."
At this point, we have a very strong following for the wines of Alzinger. As much as I want to keep funneling these wines into the cellars of the dedicated, I also want to introduce Alzinger to new folks. As limited as they are, I believe these are very special wines and I want the good word spread.
We have what must be the broadest and deepest collection of Alzinger in the U.S. - seriously, its almost freaky how much wine we have. (It's also scary how much is going into my cellar.) All the vineyards have their own voices so we've provided notes below.
Please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463 to order; give us your maximum order and we'll do our best.
I'm off to California this weekend and we will likely have to allocate these a bit, so you may not be confirmed until Monday.
Have a great weekend!
Stephen Bitterolf
Wine Director
Crush Wine & Spirits
Riesling Durnsteiner Federspiel
Special Email Bottle Price: $30.95
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Sourced from multiple vineyards in Durnstein. It is crisp and simple but PERFECTLY put together. Thiese writes: "This is the best this wine has ever been."
Riesling Loibenberg Smaragd
Special Email Bottle Price: $54.95
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The Loibenberg is one of the "Grand Cru" sites of the Wachau - the wines are incomparably deep and perfumed, they can be downright exotic, yet Alzinger always keeps them in check. This is spectacular stuff and if you want an introduction to Alzinger, here it is.
Riesling Liebenberg Smaragd
Special Email Bottle Price: $54.95
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No, this is not a typo - yes the Liebenberg is different than the Loibenberg. The Liebenberg does not have the reputation of the Loibenberg (you following me here?) - it is always a bit quaint, quieter. Sort of charming and flowery.
Riesling Hohereck Smaragd
Special Email Bottle Price: $54.95
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If you follow our Austrian wine program you know I'm obsessed with this tiny vineyard, for two reasons: Historically the U.S. has never gotten any AND it's great. It's that easy. Geographically, the Hohereck is a famous little sliver of a vineyard tucked between the Kellerberg and Hollerin, two "Grand Cru" sites of serious stature and reputation. Awesome stuff and I think we have the few bottles you'll see of this in the U.S.
Riesling Steinertal Smaragd
Special Email Bottle Price: $59.95
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Quite simply one of the greatest dry Rieslings out of Austria, Germany or France, period. MINERAL, MINERAL, MINERAL.
Grüner Veltliner Muhlpoint Federspiel
Special Email Bottle Price: $31.95
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I love this wine - the Muhlpoint is right below Steinertal and while it does show some of the leanness and mineral therefore, it's always a bit more petite. Really lovely for the shorter term, say the next 2-3 years.
Grüner Veltliner Muhlpoint Smaragd
Special Email Bottle Price: $39.95
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Always a lovely GrüVe - a bit of the mineral of Steinertal, a bit of the expressiveness of the Loibenberg. Lovely stuff and in 2010, maybe awesome.
Grüner Veltliner Steinertal Smaragd
Special Email Bottle Price: $56.95
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Top of the line - psychotically rare so be tame with your requests.
Pre-arrival - fall 2011
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