Tasting Furmint w/ Heidi Schrock in Rust (9/27/16)
1. LimerickLane Furmint (37% Harslevelu; 12.5%) 2015: Very fragrant/floral/pineapple/mango slight stony/
mineral nose; slightly soft lush/rich mango/pineapple/carnations slight stony/mineral flavor; long bit
soft ripe/pineapple/floral/dried mango finish; speaks quietly of Furmint w/ a thick Calif accent.
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2. HeidiSchrock Furmint (12.5%) Rust/Burgenland 2015: Med.gold color; rather honeyed/honeysuckle/Roussanne-like
somewhat beeswax ripe rather stony/mineral/savory bit peppery/waxy nose; tart rather stony/mineral/chalky/bit
earthy rather honeyed/honeysuckle/floral/Furmint bit metallic/tangy flavor; very long/lingering somewhat
stony/mineral/chalky/earthy honeyed/honeysuckle/Rouss-like structured finish; should easily go out another
10 yrs.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I'd met Heidi Schrock, one of my most favorite of Burgenland producers, almost 2 yrs ago at a tasting
at ArroyoVino. She invited me for a visit to the wnry if I was ever in the area. Little did she know....
It was in the midst of crush, so time was limited. Her two sons were working the crush, so she made time
to taste w/ Susan & me in the afternoon we arrived to Rust. I had promised her I would bring a btl of
LimerickLane Furmint, the only one made in Calif. We tasted thru two other of her wines, and then cracked
these two Furmints.
Heidi has a particular interest in Furmint because the Burgenland was once part of the Austr-Hunharian
Empire and Furmint was once widely planted in the area. Not so much anymore. Sort of a return to the roots.
I've always been a big fan of Heidi's Furmint, finding it has a nice balance between a floral fragrance
w/ the stony/chalky character I oft find in Furmint.
This was the first time I'd cracked the LimerickLane since it arrived last Spring. At that initial taste,
it was lacking in fruit and had a very strong stony/austere/mineral/almost metallic/steely character. On
this tasting, I found it had put on considerable weight and developed a distinct floral/mango perfume you
would expect from Calif. I left the remains of the wine for her to share w/ her sons that night.
Heidi expressed a definite like for the LimerickLane...and I think it was a sincere like..not just a
"be nice" like. I liked the LimerickLane much more than I did last Spring. But my clear favorite was the
HeidiSchrock because of the higher minerality and found it more interesting. Truly a world-class Furmint.
Heidi also tasted us on her Ruster Ausbruch '15. I found it to be a mind-blowing dessert wine; loads of
apricotty botrytis but still the underlying mineral fruitiness of Furmint. A dazzling wine that Heidi gifted
me a hlf btl of to take home. Maybe I'll share it w/ Jake & Scot next time.
Tom