I just dropped $200 on Schloss Gobelsburg Tradition “Cuvée 50 Years” as an impulse buy and I need someone to tell me that I didn’t just waste my money. Or did I? I’ve only spent that much on a bottle a small handful of times and only after lots of hemming and hawing.
The wine is a blend of many white varietals from vintages ranging from 1970-2017. Riesling and Gruner make up the foundation. I wasn’t going to get it at first, but saw that James Suckling rated it 99pts, and Terry Theise lost his mind over it https://worldoffinewine.com/2021/06/24/schloss-gobelsburgs-rieslings-music-of-centuries/ I understand that Suckling inflates his scores and Terry Theise loses his mind over lots of stuff, but at least this made me think the wine would at least be good. And I do like aged Riesling a lot. It seems like there is potential for this to be really special, but maybe that’s me justifying a silly purchase. There are no CellarTracker ratings.
So is this wine cool, a gimmick, a bit of both? It’s certainly unusual… What do you all think?
If you want to buy it yourself, it’s still available as of this writing at Sommselect.
I buy and drink a lot of Austrian wine. For whatever reason, I didn’t bite on this one, but it definitely sounds interesting. I’d say you did not waste $200, but I’d urge you to explore austrian wine further, at all the price points.
Gobelsburg is fantastic. A 2006 Gaisberg Alte Reben was my WOTY for 2020. Certainly, value is always relative. For the $200, you could buy 3-4 bottles of any of their other bottlings. Of course, none of them have 50 year old wine in them. This is unique. I know of no other multi-vintage wine in Austria assembled like this or with such a range of vintages. And, being Gobelsburg, it will certainly be far from being the worst $200 wine out there.
It’s also a very unique wine. I’m unsure of how many bottles are out there, but there’s certainly some level of rarity to them as well.
Price is subjective, so it’s tough to definitively state whether something is worth the price or not.
That said,I tasted this at a #rislingstudy a while back. If I had spent $200 on that bottle and drank it, I wouldn’t feel disappointed or cheated of $200, but at the same time I wouldn’t be running back to the retailer to purchase more.
It’s a unique wine. I certainly sounds good. And, as a special occasion wine, it would be hard to go wrong with it, just in background alone. People pay $200+ for all sorts of unremarkable (celebrity) champagne and multiples of that for questionable California cabs and Burgundies that probably didn’t have half as much thought or work put into them. IMO you’re fine.
That might be the very rare Austrian white which is an actual pop-and-pour.
Still, though, I would pour only a thimbleful at first, just in case it’s hard as a rock.
Many young Austrian whites can require upwards of ten days to two weeks in order to soften up and become swallowable.
For instance, FX Pichler made some whites in 2015 which shouldn’t have any trouble going a century [if their corks hold], and which aren’t anywhere close to oxidizing even two weeks after first opening a bottle.
If Stuart Pigott had anything to do with Suckling scoring it at 99 points, then it’ll be an outstanding wine.
I have been buying Gobelsburg since 2012 and like the wines. Last night was a 2013 Riesling Tradition with house stir fry and roasted vegetables (pretty anglicized stir fry, but I add lots of spice to my bowl). I pre-ordered three of this wine and paid a bit less but I haven’t tried one yet. It is a gimmick, a rarity, and totally unique. I expect to enjoy it and maybe geek out a bit with fellow nerds I share it with.
I’ll probably open mine in a couple of weeks. I will post some kind of impression. It’s an expensive bottle for me, but I have a ton of faith in Gobelsburg.
Thanks everyone, I feel more reassured now. To be clear, while this was a bit of an impulse buy, it wasn’t completely uniformed. I’m not super experienced with Austrian wine, but have had young Gobelsburg Riesling and Gruner before and enjoyed it. I’ve also had Pickler, Alzinger, Nigl, and a lovely 30 yr old aged Gruner. This particular wine seemed pretty out there though. I’ll be taking delivery in October, and I don’t have plans to drink it anytime soon, but I’ll post tasting notes when I do. Thanks again!
I think this is the type of wine that can be an opportunity to be more than just a pop 'n pour experience. Find as much info as you can about it and share it with others that appreciate a good story. The potential for a creation of a great memory is very high here.