Domäne Wachau “Dürnstein” Federspiel Grüner Veltliner, Wachau, Austria – LCBO General List $15.25
Now, I know that it was only the other week that I was waxing lyrically about another Grüner, but please bear with me…
When I was writing my monthly column for Chatelaine I kept running into the same problem… I had to recommend wines that were widely available across Canada and yet wished internally to only select wines that were actually tasty and interesting. Hence I found myself often recommending Grüner Veltliners that, to be quite honest, were pretty damn dull. In fact all of the mass-market Grüners I tasted were extremely dilute, mono-chromatic, and really didn’t capture the characteristics that have over the years made this grape so appealing for me.
With this in mind I was utterly delighted to discover this terrific bottling from the prestigious Wachau region on the LCBO’s General List at only $15.25. It’s a real thrill to find such an accomplished wine at this pricepoint, and I’d go as far as saying that I think it to be the best wine for both quality and value on the current General List… it’s really that bloody good, comparable to many wines at more than twice the price.
The nose is all about green apples and ripe pears with a gorgeous sneaky little spicy note. Despite being dry the palate is expansive and almost creamy, with exceptional texture, all held up with a super crisp, vibrant, juicy acidity, and long, pleasing sustained finish.
Over the weekend I tried this out on a few friends who had dropped by and it went down extremely well, with all being most impressed with the quality for such a modest sticker price.
(Four out of a possible five apples)
Edinburgh-born/Toronto-based Sommelier, consultant, writer, judge, and educator Jamie Drummond is the Director of Programs/Editor of Good Food Revolution… And he’s liking the new look.
