2004 Trefenbrunner Mulller Thurgau Feldmarschall von Fenner zu Fennberg

[TheEngineer]

Wanted something a bit different tonight.

The colour is very light. When I poured a quick sample, had to pour a bit more to see the color. Very light yellow with a hint of green.

Nose is lithe, floral, nectarine, jasmine, and structured. On the palate, the structure came through strongly. Very lithe, nice acidity, nice clean refreshing mouthfeel with a great sense of minerality from the mid palate forth. Long persistence and very interesting. It is much more of a food wine than a general sipper.

[Drew]

Snooping around on google I found the below...interesting.

Drew


TIEFENBRUNNER
Though they make a lovely range of wines at this family-run property in the Alto Adige, we see but a couple of offerings. They have a cellar full of interesting wines, however. Well-vinified is their simple, honest, basic Pinot Grigio, a wine fermented in stainless steel and bottled when it's fresh and young. It used to be "Alto Adige" in denominazione, but recently changed to delle Venezie. I was worried about a loss of quality, but Christoff explained this change was caused by legislation, not vineyard sources. It seems some of their vineyards are at an elevation higher than the delimited "Alto Adige" area and so they were obliged to change the label!

We have visited this place a few times. The wines are always of good quality, some we like more than others. They are looking to improve wine quality here, something we always appreciate. Wineries who rest on their laurels often get left behind as others strive to raise the bar, so to speak.

We were presented a sample of a red a few years ago. My cohorts had more experience in tasting the wines of this region, so all were surprised when I was the only one to correctly identify the wine as a Lagrein.
In 2003 we stopped by and were shown another "Mystery Red." I guessed it as an "Alto Adige Syrah," though I had no idea anybody was cultivating that grape in this region. It turns out Tiefenbrunner has a few barrels of Syrah!

The winery is highly-regarded on its home turf for its Linticlarus Chardonnay and Cabernet wines. They also make a famous Müller-Thurgau called "Feldmarschall Fenner zu Fennberg" which we see once in a while.

The 2005 Tiefenbrunner Feldmarschall von Fenner zu Fennberg Müller-Thurgau, Dolomiten IGT (Special Liquor Order 57323, $35.99) comes from grapes grown in a breathtakingly beautiful vineyard at the dizzying height of 3,280 feet above sea level in a sun-drenched amphitheater framed by sheer-faced rock cliffs. Fermented in stainless steel and left on the lees without secondary malolactic fermentation, the wine's pale yellow color offers complex aromas of peaches, spicy apples, limes and honeysuckle opening to crisp, tart flavors of apples, citrus and brown spices well-balanced by acidity and refreshing minerality through a dry finish. Highly recommended.

[winoweenie]

Leave it to Herr In-spec-i-tor to not only run down an obscure wine that the weener can't come close to pronouncing but publish a treatise on the hummer.(sigh) Nebber ceases to amaze!!! WW [img]http://wines.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img]

[wondersofwine]

I didn't know Muller-Thurgau was responsible for any "famous" wines.

[Kcwhippet]

You wouldn't care anyway, WW. It's a SW!!!

[TheEngineer]

KC,

I picked this up at your store. Nice find gents!

Drew,

Thanks for the information. Glad I was not off on the tasting note too much (though it was a different vintage). It is an interesting wine, well made.

Off to Saskatchewan tomorrow.....



[This message has been edited by TheEngineer (edited 12-03-2007).]

[Kcwhippet]

Thought it sounded familiar.