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Taste the difference, Austrian Grüner Veltliner, 2008

After several not overly successful ventures into UK supermarket wine I have let my investigation into what is available on the mass market slip. The other day though in Sainsburys I came past an Austrian wine that looked really interesting. And so I grabbed a bottle and was rewarded with one of the best wines I have ever bought from a supermarket. If you are bored by cheap Australian or Italian wines and look for a good refreshing white then look no further and go for Austria this summer.

Markus Huber's Veltliner, Sainsbury
Markus Huber's Veltliner, Sainsbury

I bought this wine for two reasons. First of all because it is a Grüner Veltliner, Austria's signature white variety. Grüner rightly has a reputation of being food friendly and can come in many styles, most often I have encountered it in a more crisp, dry style with pleasant notes of ground pepper and good mineral. The second reason I got interested was because of the reputation of the winemaker - I had no idea that he had made a deal to supply wine for Sainsburys' Taste the Difference range. So what are we looking at?

First of all we are looking at a very clean wine of light straw colour, perhaps a little pale around the edges. The nose is crisp with notes of grass, white pepper, lemon, mineral, green apple and (not overly sweet) honey. A really good start!

On the tongue Markus Huber's wine is zesty, a little rough round the edges (in a good way though), with a hint of peach juiciness coming through. It also shows off some spice and pepper, and ends on a good medium finish that leaves you with little tingle and bitter-lemon on your gum.

A very drinkable wine that combined well with fish and also vegetable pasta, but that was as enjoyable without food. I may actually go and buy a second bottle of this, something that is very rare. Go and buy!

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