A Flower Garden Gone Wild
2013 Christ Gelber Muskateller
Austria Brimming with Personality
Every year it's the same story with Rainer Christ's Gelber Muskateller: we buy all that we can and then, it's gone in no time.
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A good Gelber smells like a flower garden gone wild - with an orchard and a babbling brook in the distance. If this sounds like spring, you're beginning to get the idea.
The grape is an obsession in Austria that has spread across the Atlantic. It's difficult not to walk down the rambling streets of Vienna's first district without spotting armies of bottles of Gelber Muskateller on the tables.
What's on offer today is a fairly small, single parcel. When it's gone, that's it.
Christ's is no ordinary Gelber - this is one of the absolute best. Rainer Christ is one of the greatest winemakers in Vienna and his Gelber Muskateller is our hands-down favorite.
We buy Christ's Gelber Muskateller every year and the 2013 may be my favorite one to date. 2013 is shaping up to be a really strong vintage in Austria, quite likely the best since 2007. Christ Gelber Muskateller showcases what makes 2013 so impressive. There's a beautiful tension, minerality and clarity to the wines.
Gelber Muskateller is one of the most aromatic grape varieties out there. It's a light, vivacious, almost giddy white wine, chock-full of orange rind and grapefruit, a touch of ripe apricot and loads and loads of sage and elderflower.
While Italy's "Moscato" is the best known comparison, the signature Austrian Muskateller is not sparkling and it's totally dry. We think it's more complicated, a bit quirkier, and also more refreshing, more memorable.
Christ's Gelber Muskateller manages to contain all the kaleidoscopic complexity of a good Gelber, while remaining focused, balanced... crisp and refreshing. This is especially true in 2013. Of all the Gelbers we've tasted, only Nikolaihof's comes close to the freshness, the vividness of Christ's wine - and Niko's Gelber is $10+ more expensive.
Christ's Gelber Muskateller has a huge fan club. There are few wines that brim with as much personality, that offer as much joy, or as much value. We're offering special 4-pack pricing because this is something that you'll want to return to often as an aperitif or to pair with light fare.
To order, reply to offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits