A trip to Vienna three years ago was all that I needed to fall in love with this particular expression of this well known variety grown all over the world. It seemed there that every producer produces at least one version of it and every bar, café and restaurant has it by the glass. While the single vineyard Rieslings and Grüners are usually an Austrian producer’s “seriously” best white wines, very often it is the Gelber Muskateller that offers me the most fun. I wonder why it is that the Austrian Muscats suit my palate so well when for example Alsace seems to be very much a minefield. With this one from Nigl I am sure the low ABV did not hurt one bit. It it seriously great for warm weather sipping or as an aperitif, but I also enjoyed it with pike perch and asparagus. Any other fans of this wine style here?
2014 Nigl Gelber Muskateller- Austria, Niederösterreich, Kremstal (4/18/2016)
The wonderfully vibrant and aromatic, slightly leesy nose is a kaleidoscope of different tropical fruit aromas. Really jumps out of the glass like a strong perfume, the brightness and expressiveness truly are something to marvel at. The dry palate is likewise incredibly aromatic and refreshingly acidic. Due to low 11% ABV this is very easy to drink and works well both on its own and with asparagus. Once again I am a bit more convinced that the best dry Muscats come from Austria.
Yup…that would be me. When I was in Austria last Oct, I tried as many GM as I could find. Fell in love w/ them.
There is a GM made in Calif by SolminerWnry that is equally beautiful.
And if you like that style of GM, you might try some Malvasia d’Istria’s from Frouli/Slovenia/Croatia. Though those
made w/ skin-contact might not be to your liking.
Tom
So far I have not experienced the sort of freshness and weightless joie-de-vivre with skin-contact whites in general that many of these Muskatellers tend to have. Several I have found very interesting, delicious even, but perhaps in a “this would be great with food” kind of a way. I have very little experience with Malvasia so that is an interesting recommendation, though.
Enjoying one as I type. Have to be honest - didn’t know much about the varietal and picked one somewhat at random off of a list at a 40 euro price point. It’s definitely hitting the spot on a 70-75 degree night on Vienna. TN similar to the above.
Haven’t had enough Gelber Muskateller from Austria to speak with confidence about the style in general and don’t know the particular wine you tried, Ilkka (although I am familiar with Nigl, whose GV is in my cellar at the moment). But those I have encountered (most recently from Gerngross in Südsteirmark where we visited last summer and where we bought a few) tend to be fresher and more restrained than their counterparts from Alsace. I’d think the average ABV is lower as well.
My guess is that at least part of the difference is due to different ideas about when the grapes should be considered ripe (earlier in Austria than in Alsace), perhaps helped along by different growing conditions. Another difference is that the Austrian version is monovarietal (Gelber Muskateller = Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains) whereas the Alsace version is usually a mix including Muscat Ottonel. But I am not sure exactly what impact that has on the stylistic differences.
I like both styles but that in Alsace seems to be harder to get just right. To my gusto and in my experience, the wines easily become too “watery” and/or overblown aromatically, presumably due to insufficient acidity. One producer in Alsace who consistently gets it right though is Bruno Sorg and that’s where we get ours most of the time. They are also one of the rather few producers who make Muscat as a Grand-Cru wine (GC Pfersigberg). Guy Wach (Domaine des Marronniers) is another reliably good source. When we visited Alsace this past summer, we also found nice Muscat at Mittnacht Frères.
As you suggest, the grape seems to be very much à la mode in Austria in recent years, with plantings having increased by nearly 300 percent between 1999 and 2009. In Alsace, by contrast, it is on the decline with the total area of cultivation now being smaller than in Austria.
You can find examples of what I provisionally consider to be the Austrian style in Germany too. Among those I like are the ones by Rebholz and Minges, both in Pfalz. I have half a case from Minges in the cellar right now.
Very interesting points and recommendations! For some reason I have completely ignored German version of dry Muscat, although that is probably because I have mostly spent time in the Mosel. Thanks for the insight.
Well, the reason might be that there is less Muscat grown in Germany than in either Austria or Alsace. The area cultivated in Germany is about the same as that in Austria at the turn of the century, before the Austrian Muscat boom. But it’s not that Muskateller is unheard of in Germany and at the right places you can find some pretty good ones.
There are some delicious examples of dry Moscato Giallo grown in the Alto Adige, too. I find very aromatic but bone dry whites like this the perfect aperitif.
The best (most aromatic, liveliest, freshest …) Gelber Muskateller in Austria are IMHO coming out of Styria (Steiermark) … here is the best climate of nice sunshine and fresh nights … and allmost all are dry.
I prefer it as an aperitiv - or in between a meal - but rarely as the main wine on the table … it is fresh, aromatic and usually light, but often lacking weight and length … then I would chose a Top-Sauvignon bl. or Morillon instead.
However, there are also good examples elsewhere in Austria (and also in Germany).
The Muscat which is found in France is NOT the same grape, but a relative …
On the contrary, the Muscat found in France is to a large extent the same grape variety (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains). However, as I noted in an earlier post, Muscat from Alsace, specifically, may consist wholly or partly of Muscat Ottonel, which is another variety. As a rule, Muscat d’Alsace is a mix of Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains and Muscat Ottonel. Muscat Rosé à Petits Grains is also allowed as Muscat d’Alsace but not much used I think. Don’t know if it’s a disctinct variety genetically or just a bit different due to mutation.
OK. Then we are in agreement. As to Muscadet, the grape in question (Melon de Bourgogne) has nothing to do with Muscat at all. Unlike Muscat Ottonel, it is unrelated to the Muscat family, and the wine produced from it is very different from any kind of Muscat. Whereas Muscat is very aromatically expressive, Muscadet stands pretty much at the opposite end of the scale.
I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for this variety, mostly due to the lovely perfume. The two best Muscats I’ve had from anyone, anywhere, were both 1994s: Zind-Humbrecht’s Muscat Goldert (a really terrific wine, drunk in 2004) and Muller-Catoir’s Haardten Burgengarten Gelber Muskateller Kabinett. A later vintage of the Z-H Muscat Goldert, the 2004, was nothing like as convincing. The Muller-Catoir had an intriguing basil-like bouquet.
Your impression about the Muller-Catoir is interesting. I too have noticed a pretty clear basil-like note in Muscat although in one specific case only: Sylvie Spielmann (Bergheim, Alsace) Muscat 2006. I suspect, it’s a sign of less than perfect maturity (like the bell peppers in Cabernet) but both my wife and I found it quite charming and bought a few. Regrettably, the basil disappeared very quickly once the wine was in our not all that cool cellar (about 18 C on average). Muscat is one of the whites I always put in the wine fridge (running at 8 C) immediately these days. They rarely age well and what makes them so charming in their youth can disappear rather quickly unless you store the wine at really low temperature.
Anders, I agree that Muscat isn’t usually a wine to age, but I’d read that Olivier Humbrecht recommended drinking his Goldert with at least a decade of aging, and he was certainly right about the 1994. But that was really an outlier; had I tasted it blind I wouldn’t have thought it was a Muscat.
Yes, the Goldert appears to be an outlier here, at least if we trust the Zind-Humbrechts themselves. I have yet to try one (although I should) so I can’t dispute it. You said you much liked the 1994 although you wouldn’t have guessed that it was a Muscat. So what would you say it was like? I am a bit curious about your impressions.
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The area cultivated in Germany is about the same as that in Austria at the turn of the century, before the Austrian Muscat boom. But it’s not that Muskateller is unheard of in Germany and at the right places you can find some pretty good ones.