The 2006 Riesling Rothenbart both smells as well as tastes tart, featuring gooseberry and green tomato, grapefruit, and its zest. A bright, pungent palate personality leads to a positively sizzling, zesty finish. This rocky site engendered a real severity of concentration and I would not re-visit this until it had spent 12-18 months in bottle. Neumayer reports that a warm wind blew through the Traisental in the last days of September, after which he began picking on October 3; just over a month later, he was finished. I have been an enthusiastic proponent of the Sauvignon experiments of Neumayer and a number of Danubian growers, but it is impossible to overlook the fact that - in U.S. dollars, at least - excellent Sancerre can still be had for not much more than half the price of the Giess, and that with the Stein, we are in Dagueneau territory. Austrian Sauvignon outside of Styria may still count as an exotic, but if the wine is excellent, its price tends to be set with the high tariff that applies to single-vineyard Styrian Sauvignon in mind.Importer: Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700

Pale green-yellow. Inviting aromas of peach and freshly grated lemon peel, lifted by an enticing floral component. Crisp and crunchy in the mouth, thanks to refreshing acid structure that gives superb focus to the stone fruit flavors. The long finish features brisk lemon and abundant minerality. Already offers tremendous drinking pleasure, but this classy riesling also promises a bright future. Drink from 2008 to 2016.