Old Grüner

S

Salil Benegal

Salil Benegal
1991 Hirtzberger Honivogl Smaragd last night was a revelation. Amazingly light and delicate, but still showed the power and intensity of flavour I expect from Hirtzberger. Had many of those green/verdant GV flavours in the background, but it basically smelled and tasted as if it came from a rock quarry. Total Soil to Glass Transfer wine.

I do not own enough GV, and I need to change that.
 
Terry Theise, in one of his myriad catalogs, wrote glowingly of old GV; something about dried mushrooms or some such. Terry can turn a phrase.
Even so, it always stuck.
'Still have some older Honivogl . . .
Best, Jim
 
Almost makes me want to hold my other bottle for another few years, Kirk. Alas, it's so good I may open it in the next few weeks.
 
i suspect the wine will be fine either way. All about your view of the vagaries of the future not related to what's inside that bottle and the pluses and minuses of delayed gratification.
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
Can you find good GV grapes out your way to vinify, Jim?
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Everybody that I know of in CA that vinifies GV sells out rapidly. Hence, there are no grapes for sale - or at least none I can afford.
Best, Jim
 
Hmmm, probably don't know enough that I should be commenting, but tasted recently the 2001 and 2010 Weingut Knoll Smaragd Loibenberg GV side by side, and I would have to say I preferred the younger wine (even if it was not ready). The 2001, while developing some different character from the younger, more bracing GV, did not necessarily strike me as more complex. Personally, I like my white wines at intermediate age (admittedly a 2010 is too young), so nowadays closer to 9-10 years. The 2001 struck me as having lost a bit of energy (perfectly stored, so we cannot blame that), but each to his or her own taste.

I find the same to be true with Riesling--a fairly recent 2001 Riesling tasting, for example, including some of the Donnhoff Big Boys that did not impress as much as recent 2007 Rieslings (e.g, the 2007 Keller Absterde GG was mind-bogglingly good). I would take the recent (in the cornfields of Illinois) bottle of 2007 Weingut Knoll Smaragd Loibenberg Riesling over the 2001s as well. Maybe these 2001 bottles were or are in an awkward place, but...
 
Whenever I'd make a winter squash soup for some of the locals, I'd always ask Joe if he could bring an aged Gruner as it's a wonderful match. It loses all that green pea business and takes on more earthy tones and an autumnal character that just blends right in with the squash.
 
originally posted by Carl Steefel:

I would take the recent (in the cornfields of Illinois) bottle of 2007 Weingut Knoll Smaragd Loibenberg Riesling over the 2001s as well. Maybe these 2001 bottles were or are in an awkward place, but...
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Interesting - I've found 2001s in Austria rather inconsistent (some like Hirtzberger hit it out of the park, but I've also been quite underwhelmed by some from Nikolaihof and Alzinger). I was eyeballing some of the 01 Knolls at HDH. Not sure if your bottles were from there as well, but I'm now a bit less inclined to run after them. Though finding old Gruner is a challenge in the cornfields of Indiana, so I might still pull the trigger...
 
originally posted by Salil Benegal:
originally posted by Carl Steefel:

I would take the recent (in the cornfields of Illinois) bottle of 2007 Weingut Knoll Smaragd Loibenberg Riesling over the 2001s as well. Maybe these 2001 bottles were or are in an awkward place, but...
Click to expand...
Interesting - I've found 2001s in Austria rather inconsistent (some like Hirtzberger hit it out of the park, but I've also been quite underwhelmed by some from Nikolaihof and Alzinger). I was eyeballing some of the 01 Knolls at HDH. Not sure if your bottles were from there as well, but I'm now a bit less inclined to run after them. Though finding old Gruner is a challenge in the cornfields of Indiana, so I might still pull the trigger...
Click to expand...
I won't be running after them, but then I was not so impressed with the 2001...

Loses that green pea note and I lose interest...
 
originally posted by Salil Benegal:
originally posted by Carl Steefel:

I would take the recent (in the cornfields of Illinois) bottle of 2007 Weingut Knoll Smaragd Loibenberg Riesling over the 2001s as well. Maybe these 2001 bottles were or are in an awkward place, but...
Click to expand...
Interesting - I've found 2001s in Austria rather inconsistent (some like Hirtzberger hit it out of the park, but I've also been quite underwhelmed by some from Nikolaihof and Alzinger). I was eyeballing some of the 01 Knolls at HDH. Not sure if your bottles were from there as well, but I'm now a bit less inclined to run after them. Though finding old Gruner is a challenge in the cornfields of Indiana, so I might still pull the trigger...
Click to expand...
I had a Prager Riesling Achleiten 2001 two weeks ago that was absolutely outstanding, fresh, linear and very complex, developing in the glass for several hours.
 
originally posted by Odd Rydland:
I had a Prager Riesling Achleiten 2001 two weeks ago that was absolutely outstanding, fresh, linear and very complex, developing in the glass for several hours.
Click to expand...

Now that we've moved beyond Grüner, last year I had two bottles of 2001 Prager Riesling Klaus Smaragd. One was a flat disappointment and the other was glorious.

I have not much else from recent times to add to the discussion of 2001.
 
Well stored prager '01 klaus has never disappointed. I opened one tonight just to make sure. Not as kaleidoscopic as the Bodenstein, but pure, persistent and delicious. Acacia flower, wet rocks, Ripe green pear skins. I'll be sad when these are gone.
 
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