Wine of the Day, No. 873
A perfect white wine for your picnics.
The Grüner Leader 2023 hails from the Kamptal region of Austria, comes in a one-liter bottle, sports a soda pop-type cap and is damned tasty. It’s also ridiculously inexpensive. What more do you want when you’re lazing on the porch, noshing on the patio or lolling on a blanket with a picnic basket, ice chest and your own true love in the wildwood?
As the name implies, the wine is made from grüner veltliner grapes. It’s produced by Weingut Barbara Öhlzelt, who farms a mere seven hectares — 17.29 acres — of gruner and riesling grapes. The Grüner Leader line is composed of grapes from the various parcels that are devoted to her single-vineyard wines.
The color here is very pale straw-gold; the aromas are typical grüner veltliner — hay, lemon and quince, white pepper, damp flint; on the palate, the wine is energetic, even pert in its acidity, lithe and keen in structure and delicious in its stone-fruit character given a slight edge of salty citrus and limestone. Glug-glug, people. Very Good+. About $21 for a one-liter bottle, representing Excellent Value. (Remember that prices vary from state to state and among stores in the same city.)
Imported by Vom Boden, Brooklyn, N.Y. A local purchase.