The days of 'petrol in a bottle' are long gone in Austria. The range, quality (and prices)..have increased over the past 10 years. I have to admit..it's like learning to walk again...as it is a 'jungle' of districts and winemakers..and grapes. Crazy Joe...has reached 100 different grapes...if I want to catch up..I'll start with a Chateauneuf-du-Pape..which could contain up to 13 in one bottle! St. Laurent is a grape still planted quite frequently in Austria..and is similar in style to Pinot Noir. The Austrian wines most definitely have a style of their own..no matter what grape. The Umathum below I have tried before 2001 That vintage worked for me...but this lady needed a little more fat to impress. 
Umathum St.Laurent vom Stein 2002
Neusiedlersee, Burgenland, Austria
100% St.Laurent spending 18 months in 100% new medium Allier barrels. 12 months bottle aging before release.
Cool nose...which slowly opened to show
wild forest fruits...flavour is very
sour- cherry..with a mouth-watering juiciness..spices..all sounds pretty good...but a touch more fat on the hips would have swung it.
Points 16.5
2 comments:
CDP is a good place to start, but you may have trouble finding a wine with all 13. St. Laurent? Now I'm thinking of going for 200 different grapes...
I cycled through some of the Austrian wine country last summer. Some of the vineyards were amazing, hanging off cliffs that you wouldn't think it was ssafe to climb to harvert. I bored my non-wine-loving cycling companion rigid with my sense of wonder!
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