The Closing Of A Circle - Martin Nigl, Kremstal, Kremser Freiheit, Gruner Veltliner, 2005 (Apr. 2, 2009)

The wine geek genus I belong to evolves in leaps. Every few years, the angels (or is that demons?) harken and invite you up into another sphere of wine appreciation, the change marked by spending more time and money on the hobby, discarding old interests and picking up newer, inevitably more expensive ones. I first encountered this wine just before the birth of my previous incarnation, and, although I had drunk a Gruner or two before, I didn't enjoy this specific sample. It did attract my intellectual curiousity, and, knowing my current inclinations, I saw it as the kind of wine that straddles both past and present loves and was very curious to finally re-visit it.

The nose is limey and saline in a way I tend to enjoy even in humble wines and I'd probably take it for a village Chablis in a blind tasting. The palate is crisp in the same Chablis mode, lighter than a Chablis actually, but behind the chalky texture and ripe acidity is a vein of sweetness that I would have taken for German Riesling, maybe an off-dry Chenin (though admittedly the label does say trocken). This sweetness fades back in mid-palate and allows the minerals dominate the finish. This isn't a complex wine and obviously it isn't very powerful, but it is very savoury and appealing and although I've read GV can age, even this wine, this bottle was spot on for me right now.

Not imported to Israel and I don't remember how much I paid for it, probably 20 something euros at the Vienna duty-free. I think it would be a good value under 20 USD.