Poller’s 2010 Gelber Muskateller displays his real knack for capturing rare succulence and finishing juiciness from this finicky grape variety. Lush yet animated and refreshing, boasting a nearly sweet sense of apricot nectar, grapefruit, and orange (though at only 3 grams residual sugar), this is wreathed in classic sage and elder flower and adds invigoration to its long finish via nips of citrus rind and pepper. I have never drunk an older Pollerhof Muskateller, but given my experience with this grape, I strongly suspect the present exemplar will show well even 3-5 years from now – not that bottle aging is intended. Erwin Poller is as dedicated to his vines as any grower I have ever met, and he could chock viticulture and get rich quick by selling his proven technique for (as he puts it) “power sleeping.” The astute and dedicated assistance in recent vintages of young Florian Schuhmann (whose own venture with Poller’s assistance, Quantum Winery, is discussed separately in this report) has no doubt helped to further hone the already high quality of the Pollerhof’s wide and distinctively delicious range. (Incidentally, Poller’s $10-12 liter Gruner Veltliner typically offers one of the most incredible wine values in all Austria. But he and I met this year in the Wachau to save me travel time; and he neglected to bring along a sample of that particular 2010 to our session. The same goes for his Riesling Konigsberg.)Bill Mayer Age of Riesling Selections Imported by Valley View Wine Sales, Glen Ellen, CA; tel. (510) 549 2444; also a Monika Caha Selection, New York, NY; tel. (212) 877-3558 with various importers, including Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700

Poller’s 2007 Gelber Muskateller offers an excellent and highly affordable introduction to a distinctive, traditional variety. Sage flower, peppermint, and pennyroyal on the nose lead to a sappy palate filled with lemon cream, resin, and herbal concentrates, finishing with faint bitterness but an ample sense of refreshment that cannot always be presumed with this grape.Among countless small family estates in a plethora of wine villages along the Czech border, that of ambitious Erwin Poller stands out for both quality and value. His liter bottling of Gruner Veltliner represented a truly amazing value in both the 2005 and 2006 vintages, but I did not have chance to sample the 2007. I did however sample almost the entire rest of Poller’s impressive 2007 collection (with him absent).Importer Bill Mayer Age of Riesling Selections, imported by Valley View Wine Sales, Glen Ellen, CA; tel (510) 549 2444