2016 Kropf Grüner Veltliner Review And Tasting Notes
The 2016 Kropf Grüner Veltliner is an excellent white wine, a bottle to try if you are interested in discovering this noble vine so mistreated. But after all, with hundreds of white grape varieties in Italy, why should we go for an Austrian wine?
Very simple because the Grüner Veltliner is a superb wine, sapid and mineral, with good freshness and a particular aroma of its own: rocks, lemon, pepper, and many green suggestions, among which cucumber stands out. Having said that, it may not seem like a bomb, but in reality, it is a sharp wine with charm and structure.
A few words about the Kropf winery, which cultivates only two vines in one of the best areas of Austria: Wachau.
The vineyards are located on the classic terraces dug on the ridges of the Wachau hills that flank the sinuous waters of the Danube.
Grüner Veltliner is on the hilltops and Riesling on the seabed.
Very mineral soils, thermal excursions, and the kiss of the river.
The rest is craftsmanship, respect for the grapes, and manual processing.
But let’s get to the wine: crystalline elegance that unfolds layer by layer with an irresistible citrus charm and intriguing touches of pepper. The look is that of a purebred wine, sharp and gritty at the mineral level, without hesitation, hard and pure, but played with impeccable elegance.
The bouquet
The nose is a magnificent play of chiaroscuro between peach, a thousand scents of citrus fruits, rocks, a few hydrocarbons, a tropical touch, and puffs of pepper. Everything is declined with cleanliness and grace. It does not stop for a moment and flows into a finish of pineapple and frightening chalk.
The taste
Precise and rigorous in the mouth, perfectly adherent to the nose, pungent and penetrating mineral structure, but great drinkability while not leaving much room for softness. Pulp to bite all soaked in salt, pepper, and lime. It is a wine of great elegance with remarkable persistence. Right now, it is delightful but still young; with a few years, you can enjoy a more evolved and less cutting Grüner Veltliner.
Summarizing it is a great wine, a textbook Grüner Veltliner, typical, rocky, with a tropical hint that recalls its descent from the Gewurztraminer.
Food Pairings
Fish, white meats, Chinese dishes: despite being a low alcoholic wine, it has flavor to sell: dare.