WTN: Iona SB, Knoll GV, Shaw and Smith Shiraz, Wendouree, Schild Frontignac

Short notes from lunch at Sala.

Iona Elgin Sauvignon Blanc 2006 - From South Africa. Fragrant grass and guava. Crisp and dry. Arnie detected some green chili. Well balanced. Nice.

Knoll Loibenberg Loibner Gruner Trocken Veltliner Smaragd 2002 - Smoky, silky, floral, smooth with crisp finish. Has good weight to it. Outstanding wine. I haven't had much experience with GV but this is easily the best I've tried.

Shaw and Smith Shiraz 2004 - Very fruity nose and very smooth. A little spicy with a bit of vanilla and menthol. Medium bodied and well balanced. Dryish finish. Very good.

Wendouree Shiraz Malbec 1997 - Decanted about one hour. Initially a subdued berryish nose that got progressively stronger in the glass. A little hot and slightly oaky. Lots of coffee. Old fashioned style of wine. Very powerful finish. Good.

Schild Estate Frontignac 2005 - From Barossa. Nearly colorless. Slight overripe fruit on the nose. Mildly sweet. Easy, pleasant wine.

I like Knoll's GVs a lot, especially at Smaragd level- seems to be a clear jump from the Federspiels. And cool looking label!

[David M. Bueker]

Another big fan of Knoll here, though I am not so fond of their pricing scheme. The prices for Wachau wines are out of wack (pun intended) for me.

Does anyone know who that is on the label of the Knoll?

Does anyone know who that is on the label of the Knoll?

Paging Professor Lipton!

I hope Mark comes by here soon, he recently gave an excellent explanation of the "exploding Jesus" Knoll label on another wine board. Very interesting and beautiful label indeed.

Does anyone know who that is on the label of the Knoll?

That's Sankt Urban (Saint-Urbain in French), patron saint of wine growers, at least here in Austria (the French have Saint-Vincent). It's a pic from a statue in a niche at Knoll's house in Loiben.

Thanks for the info! A familiar saint since I am a fan of Sankt Urbanshof wines from MSR.