Years ago, I’d accept “Gruner What?” as an acceptable question, no more! Gruner Veltliner is a wine you either love, or you haven’t tasted it, or OK, you hate all white wine, that I’ll accept. It pairs well with so many cuisines, but especially Asian. This particular Gruner is exceptional. If you have not tried Gruner Veltliner, time to get with it. If you have, this is one you will love.
The Wine: Weingut Leth, Gruner Veltliner Steinagrund 2012 $$
The Food: Fresh, Healthy and Authentic Chinese from the kitchen of Thomas Ma
The Places: T.S. Ma, Chinese, in Montclair NJ, and Winery Leth, Fels am Wagram, Austria
Leth Vineyard Steinagrund
Northeast of Vienna, along the Danube River is the prolific Wagram region where the rich full bodied Gruner Veltliner wines of Austria are made.
These wines have delightful fresh citrus flavors with clean mineral flavors that contrast and compliment many foods. We particularly love this wine with all sorts of Asian food, but is also a wonderful accompaniment to any seafood and poultry.
The region presents a terrior that is perfect for wine growing with rocky “Steinagrund” loamy soil and warm breezes that blow west from the Pannonian Basin that are met by cool air from the Alps to the north.
Leth Winery. or Weingut Leth as you would say in Austria, is nutured by three generation family of wine makers. “Beginning with Franz and Barbara Leth in the early 1960s; and then with sons Franz and Erich, who shaped the ´80s and ´90s, and now with Franz Jr.”
Franz and Franz Jr.
The 2012 Gruner Veltliner Steinagrund is an abundant but easy drinking wine “with white pepper, green peas, lime, and lemon notes. The palate is medium in weight, with great minerality and refreshing acidity.” Winemakers Notes
“The 2010 vintage was rated 91 points by Wine Enthusiast review that said "Intense, crisp acidity shines on this young wine. It’s concentrated citrus is like sucking a lemon. This character shows its potential for aging. It will develop richer, secondary flavors over the next 2-3 years." The 2012 is richer with cirtrus and apricot. And is ready to drink now.
Family traditions are rich in Austria and there is no exception here. Yet forward vision leads to improvement to the wines. In recent years the youngest Franz Leth Jr. has set out to prove that Leth’s single vineyard wines like Steinagrund are able to age like exclusive French white wines for as long as 10 to 30 years. He accomplishes this through a commitment to sustainable viticulture with the use of traditional knowledge and sensible modernization in the fields as well in the cellar. We don’t think we will wait that long to drink these wines but I have tasted 30 year old Gruner and it is quite spectacular.
This night we paired ours with Crispy Broccoli Rods with a Vinaigrette, Shrimp With Chinese Eggplant in Spicy Garlic Sauce and very tasty Mai Fun Pork from our favorite New Jersey Chinese Restaurant, T.S. Ma.
Leth Winery - Weingut Leth
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