2007 Grüner Veltliner Engelberg

The 2007 vintage began for Ludwig Neumayer with one of the earliest vine flowerings ever recorded for the region. This, combined with a hot summer, brought anxious predictions of heady alcohol and too little acidity-in other words, Neumayer was expecting overripe, voluptuous wines. Accordingly, little de-leafing was practiced in order to preserve protective shading. Then, due to the dry summer weather, minimal plant protection was necessary and a single anti-fungal spray was sufficient. Neumayer was pleasantly surprised when an early harvest did not prove necessary; in fact, quite a precise one occurred. The resulting wines show sufficient acidity and less alcohol than Neumayer had originally anticipated. The subtle bitter notes in the young veltliners developed advantageously into spicy notes by the time the wines were bottled in spring. If these wines do not possess the fruitiness of those from 2006, they exhibit a vinous character that is also very pleasing.