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2020 Manni Nossing Gruner Veltliner

2020 Manni Nossing Gruner Veltliner

93 VM

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Featured Review
The 2020 Grüner Veltliner is more savory than sweet with crushed rocks, musky pears, apricots and hints of flint. This is round and soothing, displaying a pleasant inner sweetness and vivid ripe orchard fruits balanced by saline-mineral tones. The 2020 tapers off long and staining, yet also lightly-structured, leaving hints of candied lime. There’s great potential here. Vinous Media

Vinous (Galloni) | 93 VM

Critic Reviews

The 2020 Grüner Veltliner is more savory than sweet with crushed rocks, musky pears, apricots and hints of flint. This is round and soothing, displaying a pleasant inner sweetness and vivid ripe orchard fruits balanced by saline-mineral tones. The 2020 tapers off long and staining, yet also lightly-structured, leaving hints of candied lime. There’s great potential here.

Vinous Media | 93 VM

Wine Details for 2020 Manni Nossing Gruner Veltliner

Type of Wine Italy White
Varietal Gruner Veltliner : When it comes to winegrowing in Germany, Austria and Alsace, the grape variety that most often comes to mind is Riesling. This is a fair assessment given Riesling dominates most of Germany and much of Alsace, but… Austria, in its own right, is the ancestral home to one of the most fascinating and complex varieties in the world: Gruner Veltliner. Up until the 1990s, the consumer market outside of Austria had been mostly incognizant of its existence; however over the past few decades, Gruner Veltliner has blasted through its shroud of anonymity and onto wine lists and dinner tables around the world.

Today, Gruner Veltliner is the most widely cultivated grape variety in Austria, covering approximately 17,000 hectares of vineyards space. It has seen such world-wide exposure that no self-respecting restaurant, whether in New York or Hong Kong, can afford to be without at least one example of Austria’s signature white wine grape. As the accomplished MW (Master of Wine), critic and wine writer, Jancis Robinson insists, “…Gruner Veltliner has impinged on the consciousness of the wine world recently and the quality of all Austrian wines has become so excitingly and consistently high that no fine wine enthusiast can afford to ignore them.”

The varietal’s renaissance can be greatly contributed to the massive shift in the flagship grape’s vinification process. As an era of ripe, alcoholic and flashy Austrian white wines, many late harvested and often showing the effects of noble rot or Botrytis Cinerea, dwindles out of favor, it has given way to fresher and more precise examples that are better at showcasing the characteristics of the country’s many diverse wine regions.

The Austrian climate, terroir and topography greatly contribute to the grapes characteristics and ultimately the wines produced. There is very little Mediterranean influence due to the Alps, thus creating a strong continental climate. The mountainous, landlocked country has pronounced temperature shifts from day to night and from summer to winter. The many terraced vineyards scoring the landscape as well as the proximity of the Danube River (which flows through the norther regions) creates numerous varied meso-climates. The terroir is mostly comprised of sand, gravel and loess, which has been deposited by the Danube over the many millennia.

The late ripening greenish to foxy-yellow berries of Gruner Veltliner thrive in its native terroir. The vines can be quite vigorous and need a great deal of care and attention to produce healthy yields. The varietal is highly susceptible to many vineyard diseases such as powdery and downy mildew. A high-trellising system developed by Austrian winemaker, Lens Moser, in the 1950s has greatly contributed to the growth, quality and success of the varietal over the course of its more modern era. When yields are healthy and kept in check, Gruner Veltliner can be a very versatile grape.

Due to its versatility and naturally high levels of acidity, the grape can be fashioned into several different styles, which are broken down into several categories. For example, the wines of the Wachau region, which has become one of the top producing locations in all of Austria, is structured into three tiers. The first is Steinfeder, which focuses on minerality; it is light, fresh and tangy with a maximum of 11.5% alcohol. These wines are often bottled with a slight spritz to lift the wine and emphasizes its fresh, fruity notes. The second style, Federspiel, includes wines that are spicier, show more weight and complexity with an alcohol level between 11.5%-12.5% and are racy, precise and elegant. Smaragd is the richest and a most full-bodied Gruner Veltliner styling. These wines are richly textured, well-structured and require several years in bottle before reaching developed maturity.

Like Riesling, there are many avenues one could take down the proverbial rabbit hole of the more complex side of Gruner Veltliner; its levels of ripeness and tiers of quality that break down even further, clear down to single-vineyard wines. For simplicity, Classic Gruner Veltliner wines show citrus aromas of lemon peel and grapefruit, complimented by stone fruits, lime, flint, fresh vegetal notes (green pepper) and its trademark hint of white pepper. Half of the country’s Gruner Veltliner hails from the Weinviertel Districtus Austriae Controllatus or DAC (Similar to AOC in France). Some of the most notable regions (DACs) include Wachau (as aforementioned) Kremstal and Kamptal. Wines from the vineyards of these regions are the finest expressions of Austrian Gruner Veltliner.

The varietal has inevitably traveled beyond the borders of Austria and is now widely cultivated in Slovenia and the Czech Republic and to a lesser extent in Northern Italy, New Zealand, Australia and the United States.

Country Italy : Italy is renowned as one of the world’s greatest gastronomic havens; from certified Prosciutto di Parma to the sea-side seafood eateries on the island of Sicily. However, this epicurean experience could not possibly be as hedonistic without the ethereal combination of the country’s plethora of fine wines. It seems unfair that a nation should be able to boast, both, some of the world’s greatest cuisine as well as its greatest wines. Italian wine is one of the most sought after in the world, and has become the second most produced in the world, behind only France.



Stretching an impressive 736 miles from northern Italy to the peninsula’s southern tip, the country’s geography generates an enormous array of topography, climate and soil structure. This is an extremely important quality of its winegrowing and making industry which lays claim to nearly 550 different grape varietals, which all desire their own necessities, in terms of terroir and climate.



The still red wines of Italy truly characterize the nation’s vast and expansive terroir; Nebbiolo dominates Piedmont, where Barolo and Barbaresco reign king and queen of the region’s production. Hailing from Brunello di Montalcino in Tuscany, the rockstar Sangiovese grape has become synonymous with greatness. Vin Santo sweet wines have taken on a mighty feat of competing with the glorious wines of Sauternes, and of course, Prosecco. Prosecco, located in Trieste (northeast Italy) and its creation of luxuriously effervescent styles of wine has become Italy’s answer to Champagne. The Glera grape variety, which has become synonymous with the name Prosecco, is the main ingredient and is beloved in the appellation where the village of Prosecco’s name has become world renowned.



The blurred boundary between Italy and the countries of Slovenia and Austria, where German influence still resonates through Friuli wines. The prevalence of Riesling and other such grape varietals is high in this region and have become extremely popular on today’s market.



With nearly 702,000 hectares of grapevines covering the massive and diverse landscape, Italy’s annual average of 48.3 million hectoliters of wine production is second only to France in terms of volume and Spain in terms of hectares of vines. The country is vast and overwhelming when it comes to the culinary arts, but perhaps even this is overshadowed by its production of some of the world’s most sought after wines, whether the omnipresent Chianti to the highly collectible and sought after Amarone della Valpolicalla.


Region Alto Adige
Appellation Alto Adige

Overview

Producer Manni Nossing : Amid the towering peaks of the Dolomites in Alto Adige (or Sudtirol to the German-speaking two-thirds of its inhabitants) resides a land of acculturation. The small DOC (Designation of Controlled Origin) does not seem Italian; in fact it is more likely to witness German culinary, street signs and… well… wine. The breathtaking landscape is blanketed with German grape varietals, which local vintners cultivate with pride, embracing their ancestry as well as the proximity of Austria (20 miles north). One such producer, Manni Nossing, has found an incredibly perfect niche for himself in the remarkable terroir that has become a truly hospitable environment for the varietals planted here.

Much like his wines reflect the terroir, Manni Nossing reflects the rebellious assimilation of cultivation in the region. Descended from a family of farmers, Manni has no formal training in viticulture or enology but seeks to learn from each vintage in order to produce wines that are capable of giving pleasure while also reflecting the terroir from which they originate. In 2000, he made the decision to start bottling his own wine instead of selling in bulk to a nearby cooperative. Since then, he has increased his holdings to 6 hectares, all hillside vineyards at altitudes of 650 to 800 meters, planted to Kerner, Gruner Veltliner, Muller Thurgau, Riesling, Sylvaner, and Gewurztraminer. Kerner, a cross between Riesling and Schiava (a local red grape), represents half of his production and perfectly exemplifies the house style of precision, freshness, class, and minerality.

While the climate in Alto Adige is certainly a colder one with snowy winters, Manni finds that due to his vines’ southern exposure and the region’s hot summers, the sun is enemy number one. “I want my wines to be drinkable,” he explains. With the belief that good acidity is the key to refreshing, balanced wines, he has recently stopped green harvesting and de-leafing his vines. “My grapes are happy in the shade,” he elaborated. “They are unhappy sitting in the sun all day”.

Manni’s desire to respect the land and emphasize terroir also applies to his choices in the cellar. All wines are vinified in stainless steel tanks to preserve the grapes’ delicate aromas, though 50% of the Veltliner sees a passage in neutral acacia barrels. After eight months on the lees during which the wines pick up additional richness and texture, they are ready to be bottled. The result is a range of wines that are a joy to drink while also exhibiting exceptional finesse and complexity, perfectly showcasing Manni’s passion for his land and the region’s pristine Alpine beauty.

The Nossing vineyards are located in Valle di Isarco (Eisacktal or Eisacktaler in German and most likely the name gracing the label). The valley is a small tract of the Alto Adige with mesmerizing scenery; beautifully mountainous with green high-pastures, craggy clifftops and small patches of vines, neatly ordered and hugging the slopes in small patches, dotted throughout the valley. The terroir, comprised of sandy and mineral soils, and the area’s many microclimates provide a good basis for creating individual, fine, fresh wines.

Manni Nossing single-varietal bottlings express the possibilities of this unique union of varietal and terroir. He currently produces Sylvaner, Riesling, Veltliner, Muller Thurgau and an excellent Kerner. Idealistic and determined in nature, Manni has found ways to develop wines with strong character, without traditional constraints. His meticulous efforts in the vineyard (where he feels most at home, close to nature) and fearless winemaking techniques in the cellar have proven successful. In the past few decades, Manni Nossing has become one of the greatest white wine producers in Alto Adige, an icon in Valle di Isarco and producer of an internationally recognized and desired brand.

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