From a loess-dominated parcel just a bit closer to Krems than the source for Salomon’s Messwein, his 2010 Gruner Veltliner Alte Reben delivers smoky, sweetly pungent and biting notes of Szechuan pepper atop fresh green bean and roasted lentil. This is expansive and lush by vintage standards, with its acidity sublimated but most likely still a factor in generating the sense of energy and tactile pungency that accompanies its palate persistence. There ought to be at least 6-8 years of interest and versatility in this Gruner Veltliner of a sort that I would in general be tempted to pair with relatively rich and perhaps even carnal fare. Berthold Salomon suffered dramatic 2010 crop-losses with Riesling, but only a small diminution of Gruner Veltliner, “and for me,” he adds, “this is definitely a Gruner Veltliner year.” Between selective de-acidification of musts and allowing some lots to undergo malo-lactic transformation, the high acids of the vintage managed to be quite well-tamed at this address. (Details on some of this estate’s large acreage can be found scattered throughout my previous reports.)Various importers, including Fruit of the Vines Inc, Long Island City, NY; tel. (718) 392 5640, Artisan Growers & Producers, San Francisco CA; tel. (415) 264 4866, and Bommarito Wines, Saint Louis, MI; tel. (314) 961 8996