Best Wine of the Year (Thus Far) - 2006:2

OK, installment 2. The setting, our company's 'post holiday' party. We're very busy during the holidays, so we decided to have our holiday party in February. I pull from the cellar (at Slim E.'s urging) a magnum of:

2001
Weingut Nigl
Gruner Veltliner
"Privat"
Kremstal, Osterreich, Austria

This was the 3rd wine of the night, following an excellent German Riesling (2002 Weingut Heymann-Lowenstein from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, "Uhlen 1er Roth Lay" maybe? These guys are among the avant garde German producers who don't label in the traditional manner. $60 retail), and the 2000 Cuvee Frederic Emile Riesling from Trimbach (Alsace, France $42 retail).

The Privat from Nigl, in my opinion, blew them both out of the water. I haven't tasted a ton of Gruner Veltliner (I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who has), but I have always liked what I have tasted. This wine, though, was a revelation. Bracing acidity (and I love acidity in wine), killer minerality, pleasant fruit, and a great finish. Absolutely stunning!

And, unlike the last wine I wrote about, you may be able to find this in Portland (although the current vintage is 2004, retail will be around $40 for a 750ml). Ask your favorite retailer. Nigl is imported by Skurnik and is a Terry Theise Estate Selection (if you are in Portland, this, I believe, is distributed by Triage, which should help your favorite retailer track it down for you).

Yeah, it's a splurge at $40 for a white, but you WILL NOT be disappointed (unless you like over-oaked Cali Chard, in which case you should skip this wine completely).

And, for the truly geeky, here is an excerpt for Theise's 2005 catalog on Nigl, and here's a link to the page where you can download current and past Theise catalogs.