In NYC for a team meeting, we lunched at one of my favorite NY eateries, Queensyard in Hudson Yard. We walked over from our hotel to the magnificent Hudson Yard mall complex and dined at the Queensyard restaurant on the fourth floor, overlooking the Hudson Yard Vessel tourist attraction.
I chose
Queensyard and Hudson Yard for a special luncheon for our gathering,
welcoming our NY colleague whom we were meeting for the first time in
person, due to the Covid disruptions of the last year. It was one of culinary highlights of a previous trip to NYC prior to the Covid crisis.
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| The dining room (Queensyard photo) as seen from my seat. |
The trendy hip dining room sports a large colorful artistic painted murals on the opposing walls.
They also have a stylish formal dining room framed by the wine wall wine cellar.
Another reason I chose Hudson Yard is that it is a notable landmark and
the tower is the consolidation of several locations from around the city
for several of our key valued clients.
Perhaps the best dining selection of my week was the Chicken Liver Mousse with parsley salad, lemon honey gastrique and toasted brioche. Additionally, I had the side dish, Macaroni & Cheese with stout braised oxtail and english cheddar.
To accompany my lunch I selected from the WBTG list this Austrian Bründlmayer Grüner Veltliner. The perfect wine and food pairing multiplied the enjoyment of each.
Grüner Veltliner Weingut Bründlmayer 'L&T' Kamptal, Austria 2020
The wooded hills of the Waldviertel protect the vineyards from the cold north-westerly winds. During the day, the sun warms the stony terraces, while at night the fresh, fragrant forest air drifts through the Kamp Valley into the Langenlois Arena. The wines are characterised by a combination of hot days and cool nights, the meeting of the Danube and Kamp valleys, and the geological and climatic diversity of the vineyards.
The Bründlmayer estate includes the family dwelling, a cellar equipped with state of the art technology and a heuriger which is open almost all year round and where all wines can be tasted in a convivial atmosphere.
The Bründlmayer vineyards highlight “ancient” vines, some older than 90 years of age, that produce wine that is particularly balanced and rich in character. Their most important varietal is Grüner Veltliner, which is the primary varietal grape in the Langenlois. Its name in an old dialect “Mauhardsrebe” refers to the Manhardsberg, a mountain ridge bordering the Waldviertel with the villages of Langenlois and Zöbing lying to the south.
Climbing north and slightly east of the Kremstal region, Kamptal has very little vineyard area bordering the Danube River (unlike Wachau and Kremstal, whose vineyards run along it). The region takes its name from the river called Kamp, which traverses it north and south. Kamptal’s densely planted vineyards represent eight percent of Austria’s total.
The area experiences wide diurnal temperature variations like the Wachau but with less rain and more frost. Its vast geologic diversity makes it suitable for various experimentations with other varieties besides Grüner Veltliner and Riesling, such as Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc (Weissburgunder), Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, St. Laurent and Zweigelt.
The region is noted for the beautiful and expansive terraced Heiligenstein, arguably one of the world’s top Riesling sites, as well as some of Austria’s most extraordinary Grüner Veltliner vineyards. Kamptal’s soils, which are mostly loess and sand with some gravel and rocks, make it suitable for Grüner Veltliner, so much so that actually half of the zone is planted to that grape.
About 75% of the world’s Grüner Veltliner comes from Austria but the variety is gaining ground in other countries, namely Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the United States. Grüner Veltliner wines cover a diverse range from pleasant “light and dry” (such as this one labeled "L+T") to the most complex classified vineyard wines (crus) such as Käferberg or Lamm.
Winemaker Notes - Appealing nose of apples, fresh citrus and mild flowery aromas, as well as rosewood, green peas and asparagus. Fresh and crisp with flavors of
sappy fruits on the palate followed
This wine was rated 90 points by James Suckling.
Light straw colored, light bodied, notes of pear and green and yellow-apple with hints of citrus, lime and herbs with crisp acidity on a smooth finish.
RM 91 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4059234
https://www.bruendlmayer.at/en/
https://www.queensyardnyc.com/
@queensyardnyc
