Brundlmayer Grüner Veltliner 2012

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate A lovely nose of pea tendrils, fresh green bean and ripe pear renders Brundlmayer€™s 2012 Gruner Veltliner Kamptaler Terrassen an archetype of its grape variety, and these scents presage the salad-like, soft-feeling yet somehow simultaneously crunchy as well as positively, subtly piquant palate that follows. This deliciously refreshing bottling €“ its best-installment I can recall, and sure to satisfy at least through 2015 €“ also offers an excellent example of the extent to which Gruner Veltliner from its vintage can utterly belie their analytically low acidity. Hints of iodine and stone lend considerable intrigue in its clear, interactive finish. This was picked quite early by prevailing estate or regional standards €“ well before the mid-October frost that brought down Kamptal foliage. €œTwo thousand twelve is a perfect vintage,€ enthuses Willi Brundlmayer, €œwith great high points but high quality throughout,€ and I am certainly not going to dispute that the collection in question commences at an unusually high level even by his extremely well-established standards. (4/ 2014)