Traiskirchen Stadlmann Zierfandler Trockenbeerenauslese

Occasionally, nobly sweet wine is essayed from Zierfandler, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Stadlmann’s 2005 Zierfandler Trockenbeerenauslese is as fine an example as has ever been rendered. Quince preserves, wood smoke, candied citrus rind, and musky animal scents rise from the glass. Peach, pink grapefruit and quince dominate on a luscious, oily-rich, yet buoyant palate. No doubt this wine of 9.5% alcohol has enormously high residual sugar, but it only tastes subtley and entirely appropriately sweet. A clear, elegant, uplifting finish preserves some of the mysterious musky meatiness as well as the rich fruit and zesty pungency that were present already in the nose.The affable Johann Stadlmann is by all accounts (as well as my limited experience) the leading grower in the Thermenregion south of Vienna, where he demonstrates the distinctive wiles of this sector’s Rotgipfler and Zierfandler grapes, while also crafting some outstanding examples of more familiar traditional Austrian varieties. I only had opportunity to taste a subset of his 2005s and 2006s but as a group, they were impressive, and his Mandel-Hoh Zierfandler is a wine that simply must be experienced.Importer: A Bill Mayer Selection, The Age of Riesling, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 549-2444