Wines of the week | Three light whites

Lots of red wine has flowed through these lines recently. So this week, we’re going with three white wines. The first two are light, fresh and unifying, typical of their region and easy to approach. The last is also light, certainly less unifying because of its sugar content, but nevertheless a great terroir wine with great aging potential.

Veronique Rivest
Sommelier, guest collaborator

A superb Vision

Markus Huber is a very dynamic young winemaker who has quickly become one of the best in Austria. His Vision cuvée still represents very good value for money and is a perfect introduction to the grüner veltliner grape variety, the most cultivated in the country. The nose offers a typical blend of very ripe fruits (pear, peach), spices and vegetal. Notes of white pepper and a slight trace of gas give it a spicy, dashing character. Round and juicy on the palate, the wine is balanced by very fresh acidity, citrus notes and a mineral, stony impression that stretches on the finish. And it keeps very well until the next day once opened. To try with Vienna Schnitzelgrilled fish with peach salsa or herb sauce, or risotto with green vegetables.

Huber Vision Grüner Veltliner Niederösterreich 2021, $18.15 (14514310), 12%, organic

Aging: 1 to 3 years

Freshness and salinity

The Rias Baixas region is in Galicia, in northwestern Spain. It stretches along the Atlantic coast, and the valleys of the rivers that flow into it, from the border with Portugal. The ocean and these waterways are a major influence on the wines. They impregnate them with two of their main characteristics: freshness and salinity. This wine, from the Val do Salnés sub-region, the most influenced by the Atlantic, offers a charming and fruity nose, with notes of juicy peach, yogurt, almond and apple blossom. The palate, on the other hand, is tense and tonic, very citrusy, with a delicate salinity that adds to its freshness. Very unifying, it will accompany simply grilled or fried fish and seafood, a Spanish potato omlettesushi.

Granbazan Etiqueta Verde Rias Baixas 2021, $20.20 (14355152), 12.5%

Aging: 1 to 2 years

For its aging potential

There are few. But semi-dry German Rieslings remain misunderstood. So we buy little. Yet, when done well, I consider them some of the greatest white wines there are. And these are the best very old white wines that I have tasted; their aging potential is formidable. This one, from old vines (Alte Reben) grown on the steep slopes of the Moselle, is very aromatic: lime, green apple, white flowers, beeswax and a clear mineral impression. Semi-dry on the attack, with superb juicy fruit, it is quickly balanced by an invigorating acidity. Complex and complete, it offers an impression of fullness while it is of an airy grace. Delicious with spicy Thai-inspired cuisine, fish cakes with lime mayonnaise, roast pork (or cretons!) stuffed with apricots. Keeps very well for 3-4 days once opened.

Markus Molitor Alte Reben Riesling Mosel 2016, $37 (14887677), 11.5%

Aging: at least 8 to 10 years, probably much longer