WHITE WINES: FRANCE

+MUST TRY+
Domaine du Haut Bourg
France: Loire Valley (Muscadet Cotes De Grandlieu)
Melon De Bourgogne (white)
2013
Under $20
92 pts
My wine of summer 2016? Just found it. Fresh grass, honey dew melon, pear...with hints of Lemon Pledge and rocks...think cool water filtered naturally through granite, limestone or gravel. Perfect summer white for dining! An almost decadent mouth feel, light but ripe, with fine length. Enough acid to hold up to cheese, fish, sushi and some lightly-oiled pastas. Absolutely delicious wine. For under $20? A FREAKING STEAL. Looks like it's available at Binny's. First glass tastes as good (or better) than the third. Enough said.

+MUST TRY+
Marc Bredif Vouvray Classic
France: Loire Valley (Touraine, Vouvray, east of Tours)
Chenin Blanc (white)
2010
18.99
90 pts
For the French, it's all about the terroir, the unique character of an area's soil, topography, climate, and geo-history. While I've been aware

+MUST TRY+
Marc Bredif Vouvray Classic
France: Loire Valley (Touraine, Vouvray, east of Tours)
Chenin Blanc (white)
2010
18.99
90 pts
For the French, it's all about the terroir, the unique character of an area's soil, topography, climate, and geo-history. While I've been aware of this notion for some years now, it was tonight's tasting of the Marc Bredif Vouvray Classic that sold me once-and-for-all on its validity. Never before have I tasted Chenin Blanc like THIS. Forget about that sweetened alcoholic Kool-Aid you've had; Chenin Blanc from France's Loire Valley is serious business, capable of rich, multifaceted flavor, a crisp dryness, a memorable mouth feel, and tremendous length. This Vouvray Classic is full of peaches and nuts (perhaps the nuttiest wine I've ever had, just wonderful). The initial attack is peach (hing of pear?), followed by flower petal and lip-licking butter (like popcorn butter), before a big finish featuring a mouthful of the tastiest nuts (hazelnut?) you've ever had. The length is outstanding, and the multidimensional flavor profile transitions effortlessly from one feature to the next (the butter serves to hold it all together). The cost--just under $20 a bottle at Binny's--is remarkable, given the satisfying taste, lush feel, and high degree of interest provided. Without question, this is the best new wine I've tried in the last year--and I highly recommend you try it, too!   

Chateau La Hargue Bordeaux - White Blend (by Vignobles DuCourt)France: Bordeaux Region, Chateau La Hargue (a 32-acre property adjacent to Ladaux village)
Sauvignon Blanc & Semillon (white)
2006
8.98 (for 375 ml, 1/2 bottle)
84 pts
While France's Bordeaux region is legendary for its wonderful, time-tested reds--and, located in southwestern France, is the largest wine-making region on our planet--Bordeaux produces some interesting whites, too...or so I've read, and thus I decided to try one. This wine, the Chateau La Hargue Bordeaux, possesses the grassy, herb-like taste (and nose) common to white Bordeaux blends. It has a bitterness to it, with perhaps a very, very small hint of peach. I found the finish mediocre at best, and while I suppose herb-tasting wines are an acquired taste--although I do prefer drier wines, and this is dry--this one just isn't my cup of tea. Not sure at this point if I don't care for these varietals, or if this is just a mediocre wine, but I suspect it's probably a little of both. Not nasty, but also not something I'm eager to drink, again...especially as it would run about $20.00 for a full bottle.

VIOGNIER: UNITED STATES

+MUST TRY+ 
Seven Hills Viognier Talcott Vineyard
United States of America: Columbia Valley, Washington
Viognier (white)
2010
$16.99
89 pts
This Washington state viognier (an historic varietal from France's northern Rhone valley) is wonderful. The nose offers green melon and peach fuzz, while the taste profile features peaches for days, following with the aforementioned green melon, undertones of clean, fresh Lemon Pledge (the polishing agent...you know the smell? You can taste it here!), and an orange peel finish. Excellent length and rich mouth feel. While viognier is a low-acid grape, I generally prefer a bit more acid, and some of the spice noted by the winery, well, I just don't taste it...but wish I did. That being said, this is a refreshing, delightful white wine from red-hot Washington. As for food pairings, the combination of low acidity and strong flavors pose a challenge, but I've read that cream sauces, nut-based dishes, and rich fish or white meats work well. Our neighbor and friend Alicia brought a bottle up on the rooftop recently for us to share, and it was an eye-opener to the varietal for me. Highly recommend this one!

PROSECCO: ITALY

+MUST TRY+ 
San Simone Perlae Naonis Millesimato Prosecco DOC Brut
Italia: Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Prosecco (now called Glera outside of Veneto; a soft sparkling white)
A non-vintage wine
$19.99
93 pts
Blown away. When I talk about how Prosecco is a better value in bubbly than Champagne, the Perlae Naonis Millesimato is exactly what I'm talking about. If this bottle of wine was produced in the Champagne region of France, it would cost $100 or more. Absolutely freaking delicious: sensuous, invigorating, with fresh peach, ripe pear, baked bread and undertones of flower-petal bitterness that result in a wonderfully balanced sparkling white. Lovely, rich and creamy mouth feel--and exceptional length, staying power. While I'm a big fan of Proseccos in the $10 to $15 range--lots of quality available at that price--the San Simone is a Prosecco I will pay twenty bucks for, no questions asked. Enjoyed this wine for the first time at a Chamber of Commerce event at Nest (a great art-furniture store on Clark Street in Chicago). Michael later gave us a bottle for home--and it's the best damn Prosecco I've ever tasted. Available via the 'net at http://www.wineliquormart.com (in Staten Island, NY). Cin, cin!

+MUST TRY+
Foss Marai Extra Dry
Italia: Veneto
Prosecco (soft sparkling white)
A non-vintage wine
$14.99
90 pts
This is a wonderful bottle of Prosecco. The nose offers the smell of just-baked bread and green apples...inviting and delicious (couldn't wait to get this in my mouth!). Once there, the Foss Marai Extra Dry is soft and creamy, with a perfect weight--it's a wine that actually feels good to drink. The taste profile includes a bit of pear, a hint of the green apples enjoyed on the bouquet, and then some gently bitter flowers before concluding with a long, pleasing mineral finish...a little taste of the Veneto. A tasty, refreshing and interesting dry sparkler that I recommend highly!

+MUST TRY+
Astoria Lounge Prosecco
Italia: Veneto
90% Prosecco; 10% Chardonnay (soft sparkling white)
A non-vintage wine
$11.99
89 pts
This Prosecco offers a lovely, creamy bouquet, with up-front peach followed by a pleasant smokiness. The creaminess on the nose carries right through into the mouth, while the taste profile includes some gentle peach notes, but is dominated by a florality (with nice bitterness on the finish). This wine also possesses a pleasing weight. While I love the Astoria Lounge Prosecco--increasingly I find flowers appealing in terms of taste--it's not for everyone, particularly if you prefer a bit more pronounced fruit in your wine, and don't appreciate floral bitterness. As I let the wine warm a bit (for getting a better handle on the flavors), a stony minerality started to come through. Also tasty! A solid wine, and the price is right. As the back of the bottle reads, "Enjoy the lounge experience." A MUST TRY!

Maschio Prosecco Brut
Italia: Veneto
Prosecco (soft sparkling white)
A non-vintage wine
$10.99
85 pts
There are two positive things I can say about the Maschio Prosecco Brut, and in the spirit of the season, I'll start there. First, it's not terrible. And second, the color is a beautiful, almost luminescent gold. The aroma is closed, difficult to pick up much of anything. The mouth feel is interesting--a sort of creaminess, along with a bouncy little sparkle. The attack offers mostly apple (with a bit of peach fuzz along the edges), but the overall flavor profile here is dominated by the stones and flowers on the back end. While this is often a good thing for my palette, in this case, the various aspects of this wine just don't seem to fit together well. The creamy sensation and the sparkle make an odd combination. The apple and peach don't seem complementary. And the lingering taste on the finish--after the stones and into the flowers--is somewhat unpleasant. On the whole, this wine falls flat. This is the second prosecco in a row that I've reviewed where the individual elements seem terribly disjointed. Is this a common characteristic of bad prosecco? Hmmm. Something I'll keep an eye on. 

Vigna del Sole Prosecco Treviso Extra Dry
Italia: Veneto (Treviso)
Prosecco (soft sparkling white)
A non-vintage wine
$13.50
84 pts
Purchased this Prosecco at Vinic Wines on Chicago Avenue in Evanston last week, an elegant little shop with a thoughtful selection of European wines. Friendly service, too. Not a huge fan of the Vigna del Sole, however: a weak opening, a good mid-palette (pear definitely, maybe some apple, too), and a floral finish. The length is pretty good. But my problem with this Prosecco is not really the individual parts (except for the delayed start upon the first sip); it's that the transitions are so disjointed. When I drink this, I feel like I'm sipping completely different wines from different glasses, rotating sips from one to the other. The first one tastes like nothing, the next one (mid-palatte) is nice and fruity (a hint of acidity from a citrus flavor mixed in?), and the final one is full of flowers, with a little bitterness (perhaps too much bitterness for my palette). It's like watching three one-act plays (one about nothing, and two mildly entertaining ones)--as opposed to a single play in three acts that leaves you both entertained and intrigued. Just not a good effort in its entirety.

Salvatore Principe Prosecco
Italia: Veneto
Prosecco (soft sparkling white)
A non-vintage wine
$10.99
84 pts
Picked up the Salvatore Principe Prosecco for $11.00 at Cost Plus World Market, having no prior knowlege of this producer (from the Prestige Wine Group). In a word, I'd call this Italian sparkler acceptable. The color is an attractive light gold, with the tiniest, quickest little bubbles racing toward the top of the glass (very nice fizz). The bouquet, however, struck me as very odd: an oaky, woody. Chardonnay-like nose. As for flavor profile...I get the same thing: too much wood, at the expense of the floral and fruit (apple?) flavors. Interestingly, when I tried the wine, again, the next day, the floral flavor seemed strengthened, and the wood weakened a bit (a good thing, for my palette). And the fizz remained strong. But in the end, I'm just not a fan of this wine: it looks better than it tastes, and the strange oak flavor, so dominating on my first tastes, just isn't my idea of a prosecco. If you like strong oak in your wine (as well as floral, rather than fruit flavors), you might enjoy it, however--and the price is certainly reasonable enough. But the Riondo, Mionetto, and Zonin proseccos--reviewed below--are oh-so-much better. 

+MUST TRY+ 
Riondo Prosecco Spago Nero NV (by Riondo)Italia: Veneto
Prosecco (soft sparkling white)
A non-vintage wine
$9.00
89+ pts
I don't want you to think I'm a prosecco lush, but at this point, a full 50 percent of the proseccos I've rated over the past year have been MUST TRYs, higher than any other varietal. Clearly, this is a grape I like. What I really enjoy about this wine, the Riondo Prosecco Spago Nero NV, is the wonderful balance it maintains between three flavors: floral, mineral, and fruit (apple and pear, I think). Subtle fruits--not too sweet, as is the point with this varietal--with a pleasing floral component, even to me, for whom the floral taste profile is not a favorite. And at the back end, I get nice but not overpowering minerals...and as crazy as it sounds, maybe even a hint of green vegetables? Gary V. describes the nose as a "band-aid" smell, and he's actually on target. Reminds one of a hospital room smell. Pretty funny. And the length is very nice on the Riondo. I rate this wine just a hair below the Mionetto Il Prosecco, costing about the same, simply because I give the taste profile for Mionetto--less complex, but a bit more fruit-driven--a slight edge (just my preference). That being said, they're both phenominal sparkling whites from Italy, that I enjoy and highly recommend.

+MUST TRY+
Il Prosecco (by Mionetto Wines)
Italia: Veneto
Prosecco - (soft sparkling white)
A non-vintage wine
$9.99
90 pts
This prosecco is I.G.T., a formal designation allowing for a little creative leeway in the way the wine is made, while still remaining ‘typical’ of the region. The Il Prosecco is frizzanti, possessing just a soft little fizz to it. In terms of color, the Il Prosecco appears light in the glass, like a translucent gold. It possesses a gentle peach bouquet and the delicate, light flavor to match (a drier wine). This is a tasty little prosecco at a bargain price (I purchased a chilled bottle at Binny’s Beverage Depot in Chicago for just $9.99). Also has a good, solid finish, with the pleasing flavor remaining in your mouth a good 15 seconds after the wine is gone. The presentation of this wine is unique, as well: the bottle is beautifully shaped and colored, sleek and modern, with a contemporary look to the logo, and it’s capped not with a cork, but with a metal crown top like those found on bottled beer and soda. While I know there are better proseccos on the market for more money—such as the Zonin Prosecco rated 90+ below—this is such a great value, combining affordability, taste, and unique presentation…I call this one a +MUST TRY+. A great wine to have on-hand in the home all summer long.

+RUN AWAY NOW!+
Pizzolato Prosecco (by Settimo Pizzolato)
Italia: Veneto Prosecco - organically grown grapes (sparkling white)
2006
$14.99
75 pts
I.G.T; don't like this organic prosecco at all; bitter, flat, with no finish; not sweet enough, not refreshing; completely unsatisfying; available by the glass at Dunlay's for $10.00. Tried it once, no need to do so, again.

Rustico Prosecco (by Nini Franco)
Italia: Veneto (Valdobbiadene)
Prosecco (sparkling white)
A non-vintage wine
12.99
88 pts
A nice prosecco at this price point: fresh, with a decent finish, too. It's funny, though: there's an instant shot of fruit up front, then a 'break' at the mid-palette with not much going on at all...followed by a long fruit finish (lemon), even stronger than the opening. Not overly sweet (very dry), which is good for me, but Dana prefers a sweeter version. A decent buy at $13.00, but I think there are still less expensive proseccos that taste even better. Vaynerchuck calls it a buy, and Parker gives it 90 pts. I give it 88.

+MUST TRY+ 
Zonin Prosecco Special Cuve'e Brut Spumante (by Casa Vinicola Zonin)
Italia: Veneto (Gambellara)
Prosecco (sparkling white)
A non-vintage wine
$14.99
91 pts
This prosecco is outstanding, in my opinion. The flavor (a hint of lemon, of citrus) is not overpowering; for my tastes, this is the perfect level of sweetness in a prosecco. It's crisp and refreshing, with a good finish. A medium level of fizz. Would like it even more if it was just a few dollars cheaper, but the Rustico Prosecco (rated above), while two dollars less, lacks an evenness, with a hollow mid-palette. This Zonin is steady as she goes, from start to finish--and thus I give it a higher rating. Had a few glasses with Dana's homemade pesto and rotini for dinner tonight, and it was a perfect compliment. Also great with appetizers or by itself.

Presto Prosecco Brut (by Amistani Guarda Venegazzu Winery)
Italia: Veneto (Montebelluna)
A non-vintage wine
$9.99
86 pts
This is one of Whole Foods' Top 10 Summer Wines for 2009: hmmm. At 9.99, that's sure a decent price for Italian bubbly, and the taste is by no means bad--a dry, agreeable, easy to drink prosecco, with just a subtle hint of fruit--but this simple wine is just sort of blah. While one may enjoy sipping a few glasses this summer (as Dana and Leslie and I did on our rooftop deck last night), the Presto doesn't leave you with the desire to run out and buy more. I would describe this as a non-offensive and affordable little wine, but Mionetto's Il Prosecco (rated above), also at 9.99, is much better in terms of taste and finish. And for just $5.00 more one can pick up the Zonin (also rated above, at 91 pts), which has great balance, a more pleasing and complex fruit, and a much stronger finish. I'd compare drinking the Presto to drinking a typical iced tea in a restaurant, for those who like iced tea (not so much, for me): sort of hard to screw it up, and as long as it tastes like iced tea and is cold, it can be refreshing...but it's not the kind of drink one ever craves or gets excited about. That's Presto Prosecco Brut for me.

VERDEJO: SPAIN

+MUST TRY+Angel Rodriguez Martinsancho VerdejoEspana: Castilla y Leon (Rueda)
Verdejo (white)
2009
$15.99
90 pts
I really like this wine. Enjoyed a few glasses on a steamy summer evening on the veranda of The Boulevard Inn (St. Joseph, MI) with Dana recently, and I was blown away. It's grassy, herbal, floral and vegetal (green on all counts), with a fresh green melon nose, too. Unbelievably refreshing. And there's also some nice complementary minerality on the finish, with an above-average length. The fruit definitely takes a back seat to the herbs, flowers and green vegetables (melon most prevalent on the bouquet, not in the mouth), so it's possible some might not fall head-over-heels here on first taste. But this is a remarkably complex, tasty and rewarding wine: it feels good, makes you think (about what you're tasting), and cools you down. Now this is the way to get your vegetables. This one's a +MUST TRY+!

+RUN AWAY NOW+Poligono 10 Verdejo (by Bodega Gotica)
Espana: Castilla y Leon (Rueda)
Verdejo (white)
2007
$7.99 on sale
75 pts
Well, it took me a long, long time, but I finally found a verdejo I don't like. Not that I was searching for one. It's just that I was beginning to think, perhaps, that this grape couldn't possibly be used to make wine that tastes bad. I like it that much. But the Bodega Gotica Poligono 10, I couldn't even bring myself to finish the contents of such a beautiful translucent blue bottle. This may sound crazy, but for starters, the color of this wine tastes terrible. Darker than any verdejo I've ever seen--the color of apple juice, or urine after one has consumed way too much beer (so I've heard)--it looked bad in the glass, unappealing, unpleasant, just strange. The bouquet was dominated by flowers, not a bad thing, but once in the mouth, it felt a little heavy for verdejo, then offered sort of a flat floral note, intense minerality, and a very tiny hint of citrus...all in about a second-and-a-half, before it vanished, entirely. The fact that this wine has almost no length is a good thing, since it looks, feels and tastes unpleasant. The various flavors it flashes can be brilliant if each tastes good on its own and they coordinate somehow, form a nice whole, offer balance. But here it's just a mess. The producer's website waxes poetic about this wine, even suggesting that "The yellow-greenish colours praise the sparkles of its luminosity." Nice effort, but I'm afraid that no amount of hyperbole can redeem this one. I say RUN AWAY NOW. Great grape, bad wine.

+MUST TRY+Rueda Naia (by Bodegas Naia - Vina Sila)Espana: Castilla y Leon (Rueda)
Verdejo (white)
2006
$17.99
95 pts
The BEST verdejo I have ever tasted. Cool, crisp and refreshing up front, with just the right amount of sweetness and citrus fruit (along with hints of freshly-mown grass); on the back end, long and so smooth. One of the best wines I've ever had. Tasted it for the first time at La Sala at La Valencia Hotel, on our spring 2009 trip to La Jolla, CA. This is one of my favorite wines. Available at Whole Foods for a few dollars less than above, too.

Castillo de Nava Verdejo (by Castillo de Nava)Espana: Castilla y Leon (Rueda)
Verdejo + Viura (white)
2006
88+ pts
Sold by the glass at Dunlay's for $9.00; a tasty & refreshing Verdejo, with strong citrus (hint of pineapple) and a crisp front end; good, but not as good as the Bodegas Naia Verdejo, which has a very long, smooth, near-perfect finish.

VSolo Verdejo (by VSolo)Espana: Castilla y Leon, Vallodolid (Rueda)
Verdejo 100% (white)
2008
$9.99
87 pts
Not a bad little wine for $10.00 (was on sale, regularly priced at 11.00 at Whole Foods)...but not a top-shelf Verdejo, either. The color of this wine is clear, almost like water, and the nose is quite nice, full of pineapple, especially. A first tasting reveals a lot of pineapple, as well, and it's not overly sweet (a plus for me). After breathing a while, the VSolo Verdejo does provide a bit more complexity, with a mineral element in addition to the pinapple that is not unpleasant. But this is a simple straightforward wine possessing a clear pineapple focus, with very little finish at all. It just seems to disappear during the midpalette, never to return. A little more complexity in flavor and any finish at all to speak of, and this could have been a MUST TRY. Still might be a good buy for those who love pineapple, and the price is right (marketed by the food chain as a Top 10 Summer Wine). Also, as a 2008 vintage, this is obviously a young wine. Might mature a bit with time. Will probably pick up another bottle and set it aside for a year or two, and see what happens. The name VSolo refers to the fact that this wine is made from the Verdejo varietal only.

Paso A Paso Verdejo (by Paso A Paso)Espana: La Mancha
Verdejo (white)
2007
$10.99
85 pts
This is an okay Verdejo, but not great, and even though the $11.00 price tag is quite reasonable, the Rueda Naia (at $17.99) and even the Castillo de Nava are so much better, that I can't justify buying this one again. Has a tight nose that doesn't open up much even after airing, and while the pear flavor is nice at first, there is a somewhat overpowering bitterness that follows, and lingers on the finish. Nice acid, though. In terms of color, this wine is so light, so clear, it almost resembles water (although in fairness it doesn't taste as light as it looks, and has some degree of substance to it). Overall, I find this to be an average grade verdejo...and isn't life just too short to settle for average when the price difference is so close?

+MUST TRY+Monte Palma Verdejo (by Monte Palma Winery)
Verdejo 100% (white)
Espana: Rueda (Segovia)
2008
$11.99
89 pts
Lincoln Park Market began carrying this Verdejo, recently, and we picked up a bottle there to share with family on Father's Day...and I'm really glad we did. At $12.00, this is a tremendous find. This wine has a beautiful straw color with hints of green. The bouquet is exceptional, with a delightful citrus aroma that seems to jump from the glass upon the slightest twirl. The taste begins with grapefruit, and finishes with pear, offering a complexity not common to wines in this price range. This wine is made to be consumed upon production, but setting aside a bottle or two for a year may be interesting. Even now, this is a nice affordable verdejo, a great summer wine for sipping on the deck, at the pool, or with appetizers or white grilled meats (I'd even say regular pizza, too). Not as remarkable as the Naia (rated above), one of the best wines I've ever tasted. But for $12.00, as an everyday wine that goes great with a lot of different foods, or alone--if Spanish whites were a baseball team, I'd want the Monte Palma Verdejo to be my shortstop.

GRUNER VELTLINER: AUSTRIA

Weingut Hutter Smaragd Gruner Veltliner
Austria: Wachau (Lower Austria)
Gruner Veltliner (white)
2006
88 pts
$15.99
Rocks and apples! That's the style here. Plus a little hint of vegetation (herbs). Has the all minerality I love in a Gruner but more of the herbal component than I've found in previous producers. For that reason, I find the Hutter GV interesting. The fruit definitely takes a back seat in the true Old World tradition, with even a hint of earthiness (almost a red-wine style mustiness) creeping into an already pretty complex taste profile. Color is pale yellow (not necessarily an attractive color to me...a bit urine-like, in fact). But the taste is well worth the somewhat awkward coloring. The nose reveals apples and stones and earth. An intriguing, tasty Austrian white...something different and original--and what's not to like about that? In the end, just a hint short of a MUST TRY for my palette (more rocks, less herbs, please), but still worth a try!

Mo-Velt Gruner Veltliner
Austria: Burgenland
Gruner Veltliner (white)
2008
80 pts
$8.99
Think of something you love, absolutely love. Could be a certain decadent chocolate, or your favorite Chicago pizza. Or maybe even your grandmother's homemade ravioli...or Mollie's Cupcakes? (tip: peach cobbler rocks for me, plain cupcake with buttercream frosting for Dana). Now, consider a cheap knockoff of the thing you love, seemingly market-tested to appeal to the widest possible audience, offending no one, and completely lacking the character, the substance, and the unique qualities (and quality) of the original. So it is with the Mo-Velt Gruner Veltliner, which drinks more like a Chenin Blanc than a Gruner. Lots of tart fruit (mostly citrus, a hint of apple skin), and while there is a bit of minerality on the dry finish, this one's not true to the character of GV, selling out the rocks for the fruit. With this wonderful and refreshing Austrian varietal, one should taste the stony, rocky limestone northeast of Vienna, at least as much as the fruit. But the Mo-Velt misses the mark: it's like lemon-lime Koolaid flavored with a single stone on the bottom. Not disgusting, mind you, but a bastardization of the varietal that offers nothing you can't easily get from grocery-store producers in California or Australia, probably for even less than $8.99. It's also named after Mozart (with related artwork on the label), which is odd, since ol' Wolfgang was from Salzburg, nowhere near the Mo-Velt winery in Burgenland (more than 200 km away). Perhaps some may argue this is an "entry level' Gruner, but IMO it just goes too far, to the point where one can't really even distinguish it from other varietals. Looking for love in all the wrong places...and not a wine I'll buy again.

+MUST TRY+
Johann Kattus Hochriegl Halbsüß
Austria: Vienna
Gruner Veltliner & Riesling Blend (white sparkling)
A Non-Vintage Wine
89 pts
$8.00
What an interesting little sparkler. Purchased a mini-bottle at the grocery store in Hallstatt's new town for about €2,00 when we were in Austria last summer, carried it home in the suitcase, and tasted it just yesterday, a rainy Saturday in Chicago, mid-September. The aroma of this wine is oaky and buttery, ala a New World Chardonnay, and yet there's no Chardonnay in this wine. As far as taste, I really like the Hochriegl: the minerality of the Gruner clearly comes through, especially on the mid-palette and finish, but there's a balance with fruit, too (delicate peach) that works for me. The fruit is the initial attack, while the transition to the minerals seems to pause (like mid-air slow motion) just long enough for some Old World funk to come through...also an unusual flavor for a white sparkler. As if that's not enough going on, there are also buttery oak undertones; I'm guessing the Riesling used in the blend spent some time in French oak? I've learned that this is a popular sparkling wine in Austria, and I can certainly see why: offers some nice complexity for about $8.00 US per regular-sized bottle. Alas, it doesn't look like this wine is available for purchase, however, in the States, although it is available in some countries of Europe beyond Austria. Because the flavor profile of this dry sparkling white is more mineral and funk than fruit, I'm not sure everyone will love this wine (although the hints of oak are nicely, subtly done). But it strikes the right balance for me, and it has an authenticity to it...tastes a little like Austria in a glass. If you're in the neighborhood (Vienna or Salzburg, let's say!), I think you should try this one. It sure won't break the bank.

Meinklang Gruner Veltliner
Austria: Burgenland (far eastern Austria, bordering Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia)
Gruner Veltliner (white)
2008
82 pts
$12.99
Will cut to the chase on this one: tasteless for the vast majority of time this wine is in your mouth, followed by a quick pear-citrus combo, and then the lingering minerality common to the varietal on the finish. But in the case of the Meinklang Gruner Veltliner, while the length is very sound, the aftertaste--post finish, really--is not one I find pleasing. While I like the mouth feel--even picking up a hint of creaminess, perhaps?--the taste just doesn't come close to the potential Gruner Veltliner possesses. Interestingly, this is an organic wine, with the grapes grown sans chemical fertilizers, and the firm actually owns about 300 of its own angus cows, using the dung for fertilizer. Purchased this wine at Cellar Rat on North Avenue in Chicago, an interesting little shop that strives to introduce wine lovers to smaller family vineyards ("Corporate Wine Still Sucks" appears to be its motto). This isn't a terrible Gruner Veltliner, and I do understand that the biodynamic wines appeal to those seeking a more organic food and wine experience--and I've read one reviewer who thinks this wine shows better when paired with food--but to me, if it can't stand on its own merits in terms of taste, everything else is just spin. Will finish the bottle--because that's how I roll--but don't recommend this one, and won't buy it again.

Salomon Undhof Hochterrassen Gruner Veltliner (by Salomon Undhof)
Austria: Kremstal
Gruner Veltliner (white)
2009
85 pts
$14.99
This Austrian white has received very strong marks by distinguished critics for recent vintages—and Salomon is a respected producer of both Rieslings and Gruner Veltliners, with its vineyards split equally between these two varietals—but the 2009 I picked up at a wine shop on Linzergasse (in Salzburg’s new town) last month, to bring home and enjoy, while it has its strengths, it’s just not my cup of tea. On the plus side, this wine possesses a nice, smooth mouth feel (medium) and is loaded with the varietal’s characteristic citrus flavor (mostly lime, here). In addition, it finishes with the pleasant minerality that ties this fine Austrian grape neatly to its rocky limestone terroir. I also find the length on the wine slightly above average. However, this GV is just too damn tart for my palette, so tart in fact that I winced a few times, the way I would as a kid when consuming the intentionally turbo-tart offshoot of Sweet Tart candy. And while the fruit this wine offers could never be accused of being too discreet, in terms of balance, I find it a little heavy-handed, coming on too strong, at least for my tastes. As for bouquet, I found it to be tight, not revealing very much to pique interest. I can’t recommend the Salomom Undhoff Hochterrassen Gruner Veltliner, although it's not a terrible wine. I suspect those who enjoy the sensation of extreme tart would enjoy this wine, and it does possess some fine characteristics of the varietal. I also wonder if the bottle aged a bit, a few years, perhaps, if the fruit would calm down a little, and the tartness, too. That experiment might be worth the $15.00 US, but to buy to drink now, not so much.

+MUST TRY+
Fred Loimer Gruner Veltliner "Lois" (by Fred Loimer)
Austria: Kamptal Region (north-northeast of Krems)
Gruner Veltliner (white)
2008
90 pts
$10.99 (sale) - $13.99 (regular)
Two for two with Gru-Vee! The Loimer Gruner Veltliner Lois, for my palette, is a Must Try for four simple reasons: the balance this wine strikes between fruit and minerality is fascinating and delicious (mostly pear, some apple, and then heavy minerality on the back end); this crisp light-to-medium bodied Austrian white, with just a touch of sparkle, feels great in the mouth; the length of the Lois is outstanding; and at $11.00 to $14.00 a bottle, this is a great bargain. Tastes great, feels great, lasts long, affordable and multi-dimensional. I think it's a hair less satisfying than the Fass 4, rated below at 90+, but the Lois is also $3.00-$6.00 cheaper per bottle. This is a wonderful wine.

+MUST TRY+
Gruner Veltliner Fass 4 (by Wiengut Bernhard Ott)
Austria: Wagram (14 miles NE of Vienna)
Gruner Veltliner (white)
2007
90+ pts
$17.00
I ordered this Austrian white a few months before our first trip to Austria--let's call it legitimate research--from Gary Vaynerchuck's Wine Library for $16.98: Wow. Have had a few other Gruner Veltliners (a grape native to Austria, accounting for 37% of the total vineyards there), and while they've generally been pleasant and well-suited to food (light bodied, with very subtle hints of minerals and citrus), I've found them almost too subtle, nearly without taste. But this is most certainly not the case with the Fass 4 by Ott winery. This wine has a nice nose, a lot of tobacco, which I always enjoy (in wine, that is), along with the customary GV hint of citrus. And the taste profile is just wonderful. I get nice apple, along with pear, with a very pleasing undercurrent of tobacco, to match the nose. And it's a more full-bodied wine than the other GVs I've tasted. As for length...the pleasant taste (which finishes with some of the minerality common to the region) lingers for minutes after swallowing, almost making one salivate. This is a refreshing white wine great with or without food, with a delicious yet multi-faceted taste and an outstanding finish--all at a very reasonable price. This one's a MUST TRY for me, maybe even the white wine for summer 2010. Not at all surprised to see that Wine Library has added this one to its best summer wines under $25.00 promotion. Highly recommend you give the Gruner Veltliner Fass 4 by Bernhard Ott a try...and soon!

RIESLING: GERMANY

+MUST TRY+
Dr. Heidemans-Bergweiler Riesling
Germany: Mosel River Valley
Riesling (white)
2009
89+ pts
$12.99
Picked up this German Riesling at Binny's Beverage Depot on Clark Street for thirteen bucks (it's a Gary Vaynerchuck rec on Daily Grape.com). GV got this one right; hell, I even think he may have underplayed it a bit, for my palette. This is a delicious wine, one I think that can change some minds about this varietal for those who view Riesling as a distasteful, Koolaid-like sweet wine...especially Rieslings at this price. While I find the nose to be awfully stingy, the mouth feel, taste, and length are outstanding. This is a medium-bodied German white offering bright citrus, fresh apple, and a long, dry finish with plenty of minerality. It's also a wonderfully balanced wine, with smooth, seamless transitions from the initial citrus burst to the mouthful of apples, and then to the encore of river rock-like minerals. The mineral finish, in particular, is rewarding...sort of like a Springsteen encore featuring Thunder Road and Jungleland: as good as the show was, the encore blows you away. Needless to say I like this wine, and give it a most-definite MUST TRY.

Starling Castle Riesling
Germany: Mosel-Saar Ruwer
Riesling (white)
2006
86+ pts
$9.99
The nose on this straw-colored, semi-sweet Riesling offers pear with a hint of tobacco, while the taste profile includes peach on the front end, heavy pear on the mid-palette, and a minerality on the finish. This wine starts sweet and finishes a bit sour. The length is slightly above average, and on extreme back end, there is even a nice dry finish (odd, really, in a semi-sweet Riesling). That's all pretty cool for a ten dollar bottle of wine, and if you prefer sweetness in your whites (as opposed to more mineralty or florality), this wine might be a MUST TRY for you. For my palette, it's a bit too sweet up front. Tried this wine with corned beef and cabbage, including a bit of horseradish with the beef. Not a great pairing. By no means a ripoff at ten bucks, but also not a wine I'm eager to keep on hand.

Römerhof Weinkellerei Riesling
Germany: Mosel River Valley (Trittenheim)
Riesling (white)
2009
85 pts
$8.99
Received this bottle of Mosel Riesling as part of a Christmas gift basket from a kind family at school, and opened her up this evening to try with Dana's homemade pesto and pasta. In terms of a food pairing--Riesling is so damn food friendly--a spicier dish would have been better, given the sweetness of this wine. The nose is awfully stingy--after it has warmed up a bit in the glass, I do get a little butter--but the mouth feel is quite pleasing (butter again comes to mind). The taste profile is quite fruit-forward, as one would expect, with quick little hits of peach and apricot and stronger, more sustained apple and pear flavors. The very back end possesses a hint of minerality (which I like), while the length is practically non-existent: poof! and it's gone. This is not a terrible wine, and in a pinch could go well with some spicey Asian dishes. But it's also not the kind of wine I enjoy drinking sans food, and despite the variety of fruit flavors offered, it drinks as a one-dimensional wine. Back in '09 Whole Foods had this wine on its Top Ten Holiday Wine List, and I can see it being consumed with cranberry sauce and stuffing, but still, just an average wine for my palette: beter than the worst junk Rieslings out there (i.e., Polka Dot), but nothing to get excited about, either.

+MUST TRY+
Carl Reh Riesling
Germany: Mosel River Valley
Riesling (white)
2009
89 pts
$9.99
Just enjoyed a few glasses of this bright and delicious Riesling from Germany at Dozika Pan-Asian in Evanston, where Sara, Ken, Jessica and I had lunch the day before Thanksgiving. Wow. Paired it with spicy Kung Pao chicken, which worked very nicely (Riesling is so food-friendly, given its acidity and potential for balancing out spicy dishes with a little sweetness and minerality). This wine, priced at $7.00 a glass at Dozika but about ten bucks a bottle retail, can also stand tall on its own. It's fresh, full of life, with a delightful taste that is reminiscent of the Apricot preserves my grandmother used to buy and serve on toasted white bread. This strikes me as a semi-dry wine, however (not at all candy sweet like some Kool-Aid style Rieslings) and even offers hints of minerality on the finish. Perhaps the only shortcoming is that the length is average, vanishing soon after consumption--and this, along with a lack of real complexity, of an interesting story to tell in terms of taste--keeps the Carl Reh Riesling from being a 90 point wine. That being said, this kind of deliciousness, along with such high potential for pairing with spicy Asian foods, at ten bucks a bottle? It's a MUST TRY!

S.A. Prüm "Essence" Riesling
Germany: Mosel River Valley
Riesling (white)
2009
87 pts
$13.00
Enjoyed dinner in Winter Park, FL with my dad, his wife Linda, and my sister Kim last night, at Ruth's Chris steak house. Not a steak guy, really, but this gave me the opportunity to test out a spicy Asian food-dry Riesling pairing, something I read about in Jay McInerney's book A Hedonist in the Cellar. I selected as my entree the large calamari appetizer, served at Ruth's Chris with a sweet & spicy Asian sauce, and as my wine, the Prum Essence Riesling. The citrus and sweetness in this German white are supposed to complement and balance the spiciness of Asian sauces and food. As it turns out, I like this wine a lot, but the pairing with this dish was just so-so. While the wine had a wonderful minerality to it and pleasing hints of lime--with a nice mouth feel and a slightly above average finish--this near dry/semi-sweet Riesling, so mineral driven, just didn't do enough to balance out the spices used on the calamari (could have used a bit more acidity, for my palette). I've since learned that the blue slate in the soil of this mid-valley estate accounts for the nice minerality. Still, on it's own or served with seafood or fish sans Asian spices, I think this is a good, solid semi-dry Riesling at a reasonable price--and a wine I would certainly drink, again. Compared to the Polka Dot Riesling reviewed below, this is a 91 point wine. On its own, I give it 87...nice, but not a mind blower, either.

+RUN AWAY NOW+
Polka Dot Medium Dry Riesling
Germany: Pfalz
Riesling (white)
2006
75 pts
$10.00
Need to start with two realities here: first, just about everyone who's rated the Polka Dot Medium Dry Riesling likes it a lot--but not me. Second, this is the first Riesling I've rated officially, and I'm no expert on the specific characteristics of this varietal. Those points aside, here's my honest take.

The color of this wine is yellow straw (light, even sort of airy), and the bouquet offers pear and nectarine. The company claims apricot on the nose, as well, but I don't pick that up. It's a sweet smell dominated by those fruits. As for taste, it's very light in the mouth (I've read this is an expected characteristic of the varietal, however), and the sweetness of the fruit--opening with pear, then transitioning, rather awkwardly, to a longer nectarine flavor--is displeasing for my palette: just too much for a wine described as Medium Dry. I also pick up a secondary floral taste, but that flavor does not seem at all in harmony with the dominating, sweet fruit. And the length of this wine is below average, a disappearing act. Riesling is recognized as one of the most food-friendly wines in the world, and I can see how the sweetness (plus a bit of acidity) would complement certain spicy foods (especially Asian?), but I don't care for the mouth feel, dominant flavors, level of sweetness, balance, or finish on the Polka Dot Riesling. It's just not a wine I want to drink again.