WTN: 2006 Salomon/Undhof Riesling Pfaffenberg (Austria)

[David M. Bueker]

Served with crab salad lettuce wraps:

Tangerine & chalky stone dominate the nose and flavors of this wine, with a tartness of fruit adding to the solid acid structure. There's a touch of warmth on the finish, but it merely amplifies the finish rather than feeling hot. Not so much of a long ager as some other 2006 Salomon wines, but very good right now.

Catrina and I have had the privilege to be invited by Bertold and Gertrud Salomon at the Undhof last Saturday for dinner. We didn't have this wine, but I remember three phantastic 2006s: GV Von Stein, Riesling Kögl and Riesling Reserve. We had a very nice time with Bertold and Gudrun, along with three other couples (not ITB) and Bertold's 18 year old son Bert.

His Australian reds were phantastic too: A 2004 shiraz and his 2001 Alttus, his top wine (also shiraz, iirc), a wine that Jancis Robinson wrote about as "reminding her favorably about that other legend, Grange" (my wording).

[David M. Bueker]

That sounds like a lovely evening.

I have 2006 the Riesling Kögl Reserve and Grüner Veltliner Lindberg in the cellar. Any thoughts on how long to cellar them?

David, these are my (blind) TNs from almost one year ago:

2006 Undhof Riesling Kögl Reserve
Wunderschön klare, glockenklare, feine Steinobstnase; feine Frucht, wunderschönes Spiel, der Zucker (9 g) überhaupt nicht merklich, die Säure passt perfekt, ganz großer Stoff.
94/100

2006 Undhof Grüner Veltliner Lindberg Reserve
Wow! Absolute Prachtnase, explodiert förmlich, Pfeffer und Kernobst auf vielschichtigste Art verwoben, wunderschöner Fruchtglanz, saftig und knackig, ausgezeichnet.
92/100

I'd say they are both wines for easy 10 to 20 years of age. The problem, however — as you most certainly know! — is that these wines are simply phantastic both young and aged ...

[David M. Bueker]

Indeed. I'm not sure how I am going to keep my hands off of my stock. Laura is not generally a fan of dry Riesling (she prefers the off-dry & sweet German styles), but she really liked the Pfaffenberg. I think it's the tangerine flavor that is so easy to like. I've been buying/drinking Pfaffenberg for the last 8 vintages, and that flavor marker is always there.

Two weeks ago a friend brought me from Vienna a 375 of Salomon gelber traminer reserve. Didn't know this grape, any thoughts about it?

Oswaldo,

Weißer Traminer = Savagnin Blanc (grape variety of Château-Chalon/Vin Jaune) = little traminer aromatics.

Roter Traminer = Traminer ("standard" traminer)

Gelber Traminer = Gewürztraminer (considered possibly the noblest of the three varieties)

All cited from memory (no time for deep search), I might very well be wrong.

Thank you, Michael.

I found this through google: "There are three varieties of Traminer in Austria: the clearly predominant Roter Traminer, the especially spicy Gewürztraminer and the almost extinct Gelber Traminer." http://www.winesfromaustria.com/wine/ww_traminer.html

Sounds like the Gelber is differenet from Gewurtz, and perhaps confined to Austria. And, strangely, no mention of the Weisser Traminer.

Oswaldo, you're most probably right, my fault, sorry.

As to the missing Weißer Traminer, that's quite clear, since it's not planted here. Although ampelographists are sure that savagnin blanc is part of the traminer family, this fact has has always puzzled wine geeks, since this variety tends to be about as aromatically neutral as a grape can be.