This bottle brought itself to our attention on the shelf primarily because of the light, translucent color of the wine/bottle, accented by the classic styling of the label and coat of arms. Strauss has several light white offerings, but we chose the Gelber Muskateller because we had not tried that varietal, and if we ever become serious about the Century Club (those people who can prove they have tried the wines of a hundred different grape varietals), this relatively specialized one could come in handy. We were almost dissuaded by the screwtop, which was surprising to see on a $14 bottle of wine, but decided to see if the expense would be worth it, probably mostly because once something strikes my fancy I have a hard time letting it go.
On opening the bottle after chilling lightly, the wine presents surprisingly intense flavors of apricots, almonds, walnuts, and a shade of lemon. While certainly a dry wine, it has enough fruit to almost make you forget that fact. It has a medium weight for a white, and a slightly buttery texture that melts on the tongue. Altogether, it makes a good pairing for food with sea oils and cheese with some pungency (such as the shrimp and pasta, with a rather good Romano we had it with).
The one down note is that the wine has a rather monochromatic acid to it. When I had a glass without any food, it was a bit forceful, and I did not really taste the other complexities until the initial impact of the acid on my taste buds diminished. Slow sipping helped, but this wine seems to need light but slightly sharp food to help it find its place. Perhaps a few more years of aging would also help mellow the tone, although I don't know how much I would trust the screwtop packaging to allow that.
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