Herbert Zillinger, "Neuland", Grüner Veltliner

This is a wonderful Grüner that is made by one of the bright lights of the Weinviertl in the northern of Austria. In fact, Zillinger is a real trailblazer and belongs to a group who focus on Grüner Veltliner that is always made in Biodynamic vineyards. This allows them to have exceptionally high quality fruit in the winery that yields a dazzling array of wines. This one is beautiful.

Jancis Robinson says so and she really knows her stuff...

Remarkably deep greenish coppery colour. Fine, intense, lightly smoky nose. Kerpow! Pure fruit hits the palate and grips it from beginning to end. Still quite youthful but bone dry. Clean as a whistle with a light hint of lilies. Pretty impressively persistent for such a baby.

More recently, in his Irish Times wine column, on 5th August, 2023, John Wilson wrote,

An explosion of opulent exotic fruits and flavours; mouth-watering peaches and pineapples, lime zest and spice, with a steely backbone and amazing length.

Grüner Veltliner is a brilliant grape variety that seems to be the perfect food matching wine. Textural and semi-aromatic, it often has flavours that are on the culinary spectrum, such as tarragon, sage, oregano and, most typically, white pepper. There are very classic Grüners that almost appear as though they're made with a bouquet garni...

For food matching, this is another culinary delight and will pair wonderfully well with seafood, poultry, salads and is wonderful with pork dishes. It's also a stunner for us as it's only 11.5% alcohol.