Two and half weeks after harvesting his Piri bottling, Nigl returned to pick the 2007 Gruner Veltliner Privat. Bittersweet floral perfume and herbal concentrate in the nose lead to a (for this site) surprisingly low-toned palate of malt, nut oils, honey, and pan drippings. Yet there is a cool side to this soothing, 14% alcohol Veltliner, which finishes with memorable meaty, resinous, and honeyed depth. What a contrast Nigl's two pickings from the Piri make this year. Why not try setting some of this one aside, too, for up to a decade? After Martin Nigl's decidedly mixed results in 2006 - especially a series of Rieslings with high alcohol and heat - it was a pleasure to taste a more typical vintage for him in 2007, where even the richest wines (and there are some sumptuous beauties) are refined and full of intricacy and intrigue. Nigl assures me that to achieve this required more selectivity than in either of the two previous vintages. This year's collection offers in particular a magnificent example of Gruner Veltliner's versatility and ability to make complete, evocative statements across a range of weight classes. What's more, few wines can beat Nigl's 2007 Gruner Veltliner for value.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

Nigl says there was some desiccation but no problematic botrytis in the grapes for his 2006 Gruner Veltliner Privat, even though they were picked November 15, several days after the region’s first significant (and unusually early) snowfall. A veritable liqueur of Gruner Veltliner, this is redolent of over-ripe peaches, honey, marzipan, sweet pea, and ester-filled, Chartreuse-like floral and herbal essences. Creamy in texture, its 15.5% alcohol is most evident in high glycerin and a sense of sweetness. With these grapes from the Piri, Nigl was willing to permit overnight skin contact prior to fermentation in order to enhance the sense of extract and convey structure. A bitter-sweet, piquantly nutty depth in the finish helps offset the impression of sheer ripeness, and there is – for now at least – only marginal heat. He thinks the wine will slim down further as it matures and that its extract will keep the alcohol at bay. It will certainly be fascinating to follow the wine, watchfully, and meantime it puts on a truly impressive show.Martin Nigl’s tactical decision – in the face of what he perceived as stubborn raw material, and based on his experiences in 2003 – was to let his 2006 grapes hang. The high-extract legacy of a well-watered August, he reasoned, would help buffer high alcohol. With Gruner Veltliner, this strategy led to unusual richness in the ostensibly lower echelons and exceptional opulence (to which some tasters may take exception) at the upper end of the collection. With Riesling, the results are unusual and controversial, to say the least. Incidentally, Nigl has converted 100% to screw-cap bottling. He says that for this reason he uses a lower dosage of sulfur, with the byproduct that there is little or no post-bottling trauma.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300