Johann Mullner Gruner Veltliner 2004 Sandgrube

For the uninitiated (as I was prior to this bottle) Gruner Veltliner is the indigenous white grape variety of Austria that has been taking the wine world by storm fo the past year or so (they've been making it for years so one suspects that those in the know have been keeping it a bit of a secret for a while) however finding good examples that are inexpensive is a complete minefield - expect to pay around £10 a bottle most places as it is seen as something of a premium variety - however when I saw one at just over £5 a bottle at the wine society (www.thewinesociety.com) I decided to go for it, acknowledging that this might not be the best example, it might not be the best made, but trusting the wine society it would at least tell me whether I was going to buy more of the stuff without spending too much. And the truth is I was more surprised than I thought I would be, I liked the wine more than I thought I would and it seemed to me that all the fuss was actually worth something - Gruner is Great! Drunk young it has wonderful tropical and citrus notes (pink grapefruit) with just a hint of nutmeg which makes it more interesting, it's medium bodied, full flavoured and delicious - I was truly wowed - and by a £5 bottle of wine - how often does that happen! To my mind it has somehow managed to fill the gap between Sauvignon and Chardonnay that fans of both will go for and yet the style is essentially Germanic creating something totally unique and yet totally wonderful and a real crowd pleaser that pretty much any white wine drinker is going to go for! Quite simply put - get out there and get Grunered!