2016 Nikolaihof Grüner Veltliner Hefeabzug

While bottled off its lees, as its nickname implies, this wine was lightly filtered at bottling, whereas, in keeping with recent estate practice, a portion of the same cuvée was bottled without filtration under the nickname “Zwickl” (also reviewed in this report). Most oenophiles would be amazed at how greatly the two bottlings differ in taste. But think of it this way: at a critical point in each wine’s evolution, it underwent a very different experience, and after that, the two took distinctively different developmental paths. The nose here, in what has become classic Hefeabzug fashion, delivers mineral and herbal nuances – suggestive of marine breeze, chalk dust and iodine – along with pleasantly pungent yeastiness. An appealing savor suggestive of oyster liquor and seaweed emerges on the palate, where the feel is surprisingly creamy. But the finish delivers tangy lemon peel and apple skin, cucumber juiciness and considerable mineral nuance consistent with the wine’s aromas. While there is some midpalate sense of softness vis-à-vis more typical installments of this bottling, it will doubtless come as a surprise to most tasters to learn that this year’s Hefeabzug underwent complete malolactic transformation. (It’s entirely possible that the unfiltered, sediment-filled “Zwickl” version of this cuvée will have the longer bottle life. It has not yet been possible to compare the two versions in wines of several years’ age. But the track record of Nikolaihof’s Hefeabzug is formidable for an ostensibly “intro-level” bottling.)