The 2006 Gruner Veltliner Der Wein Vom Stein leads aromatically with lime, herbs, and gooseberry that momentarily made me think -Sauvignon Blanc.- A lovely counterpoint of creaminess and brightness, honeyed richness and refreshing citricity, along with apricot and gooseberry characterize the palate here, and nut oil flavors also suggest really ripe Sauvignon. Hints of flowers and tobacco emerge as one gives this wine time in the glass, and it is almost sure to gain in bottle, too, for at least 6-8 years. There is an appropriately stony note in the finish, along with more tingling, pungent manifestations of what, for lack of any other possible expression (forget about explanation!), must be termed -mineral.- The luscious yet transparent cast to this Wein Vom Stein would not have been possible, says Neumayer, without botrytis-free ripeness. 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