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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2013 and 2022 (based on 42 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.8 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 7 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by stadler on 3/14/2013: Grüner Veltliner (Chapitre 20, Paris 4e, France): La robe est ici franchement dorée. On sent une complexité aromatique encore contenue, il a besoin d'aération ou est dans une phase un peu fermée. Rondeur et puissance s'associent au palais, la matičre est présente, c'est le plus déroutant des Grüner Veltliner de la dégustation. (2241 views) | | | Tasted by fafounet on 3/14/2013: Grüner Veltliner (Chapitre 20, 75004 Paris): Beau nez, legerement miellé.
Grande longueur. Amertume bien intégrée.
Aromes de pęche, notes poivrées.
14(15) / 20 (2373 views) | | | Tasted by honest bob on 1/28/2011 & rated 85 points: Good food and so-so wines at Wein & Co in Salzburg; 1/27/2011-1/28/2011: Aromatically restrained to the point of neutrality, this wine's fat alcoholic entry and monolithic, slightly oily midpalate are only enlivened by a healthy dose of white pepper. Perhaps it is just temporarily closed up, but I don't see where the 92P identified by a previous TN-writer can possibly be slumbering. 85(-86)P (3060 views) | | | Tasted by sweetstuff on 10/8/2010 & rated 92 points: We walked into a flurry of activity in this tasting room, because several moderately large customers were jostling to get a few bottles of the upper-end wines, especially the Honivog and l Singerriedl Smaragd,tipped as being something very special in publications like the Falstaff Wine Guide, but completely sold out due to tiny quantities produced, at the relatively expensive (relative to quality) prices of Euros 37 and 40, respectively, consumer ex-cellars.
A house that tries to maximize sense of place and minimize use of sulfur dioxide in all its incarnations. They are deeply committed to the Wachau quality scale of Steinfeder, Federspiel, and Smaragd.
2009 Rotes Tor Grüner Veltliner Federspiel, picked between October 26 and November 2, 12.5 pabv, Euros 13 (US $17, about $30 US). Mid-green. Honied oatmeal and sweet pea, very elegand and actually deep and really profound nose, giving a sensation of nutty richness. Palate is limy but rich, mid-viscous with prolonged and energetic minerality on the finish. 1.5 grams RS/Liter. 92/100, a clearly overperforming wine for the type.
2009 Rotes Tor Grüner Veltliner Smaragd, Euros 22. (US $28.60, approx retail $45.) 13.5 pabv, 4 g/l residual.Greenish. Again honied oatmeal, with the sweet peas having a floral element, becoming bright and smoky somehow at the same time. All this carries over onto a palate with the impression of freshness, even though it's a bigger wine, as it should be. With time may improve a tad, and really will benefit from some bottle age in terms of integration. 92+/100. Impressive potential.
2009 Axpoint Grüner Veltliner Smaragd. Euros 22. (US $28.60, approx retail $45.) Richer green color, showing prominent 'Kirchenfenster' ('church windows'), what German-speaking folks often call 'legs' on the side of the wine glass. Honied with a pear note, with forthcoming spiciness to the nose and palate and a floral underpinning. A stony-smoky finish develops out of a moderately energetic minerality. 92/100.
2009 Honivogl Smaragd Grüner Veltliner. Euros 37 (US $48.10, retail about $95) Full greenish. Nose runs to broad but neutral peach, reserved, with lots of smoky and somewhat mysterious honey; minerals and lime on the palate; the first of these wines that is undeniably a Grüner V and would be obviously so tasted blind. It seems like Hirtzberger plays down the GV spicy herbosity in all but the top bottlings. Fihishes with more aparagus and 'green' mineral notes. 93/100
2008 Hochrain Riesling Smaragd Euros 29, ($US 38, retail about $75). Adds spice to smoky breadth, with a dancing sense of dry sweetness and richness, very clean. 14.5 percent alcohol by volume, but no sense of it. The palate is all of that and ends with what seems a curtain of almonds. My style all the way. 93/100. Bought two bottles of this, especially since the Singerriedl was sold out, probably even before it was bottled.
Also tasted: Hochrain 'Selection', a wine with 30 grams of residual sugar, of whidh I didn't take a note.
Hirtzberger has long since been 'discovered' all over Europe and even the United States. The fact that all the top wines were sold out this early shows that the prices are actually low relative to the market. A tough reality! (2610 views) |
| Franz Hirtzberger Producer websiteGrüner VeltlinerGrüner Veltliner, (or Gruener Veltliner when spelled without the Umlaut) is an indigenous white grape from Austria. Grüner Veltliner accounts for nearly 30% of the country's plantings making it the most widely grown grape in the country.
Grüner Veltliner is grown throughout the wine growing areas of Austria, but is most prominent in the area of Neiderösterrich (Lower Austria.) Grüner Veltliner is an ancient descendant of the white grape, Traminer, its other parent remains unknown.
Grüner Veltliner is a DAC classified wine in the wine growing areas of the Weinvertel DAC (District Appellation Control), Kremstal DAC, Kamptal DAC, Traisental DAC and Lethaiberg DAC. Other important growing areas include the areas of Wachau, Vienna, and Wagram despite the fact these regions are not currently recognized under the DAC system. Grüner Veltliner wines typically 12.5% abv, but can have more or less dependent on the region, the year and winemaker's personal style.
Grüner Veltliner is most commonly known as a bone-dry, highly acidic grape with distinct aromas and flavors of white pepper, green apple and citrus. While this is the typical flavor profile for young Grüner Veltliner wines, it is important to recognize that Grüner Veltliner is a very expressive grape and will show different dependent upon the region in which it is grown. For example, the Weinvertel will demonstrate high-acid, white pepper and green apple as noted, but a Grüner Veltliner from the Wachau is likely to show characteristics more typical of that of Riesling -richer, deeper fruit and a touch of stone; still other regions display different expressions that can include tropical notes, stone fruits, flint, smoke and more.
Though many Grüner Veltliner wines are made for immediate consumption, Grüner Veltliner can have incredible aging potential and can often be compared with white Burgundy, after all they are grown at roughly the same latitude. Grüner Veltliner made for aging will likely be slightly higher in alcohol and contain later-harvested grapes.
Although Grüner Veltliner is typically vinified dry, it may also be used on its own or as part of a cuvée to make sweeter styles such as Beerenauslese, Trokenbeeranauslese, Ruster Ausbruch (in the town of Rust only) or Eiswein.
Grüner Veltliner is an average-ripening grape and is typically harvested in October in Austria though weather conditions can force vine growers to harvest early.
Gruner Veltliner may be found in other areas of the world under the name of Weißgipfler, Grünmuskateller (AT), Veltlínské zelené (CZ), Zöld veltelini (HU), Veltlínske zelené (SK) or Zeleni veltlinec (SL).Smaragd Wikipedia about Smaragd (german)
Google translation in English of the German Wikipedia about Smagard
From what I understand, these wines (very ripe, dry, late-harvest, etc.) were going to be designated Honivogl (after a kind of bird found in or near the vineyards, meaning 'honey bird'. However, the Honivogl family was involved in the wine trade in Austria and objected that this would cause confusion and weakening of their trademark. Another creature was therefore selected (the green lizard called Smaragd) to be the mascot (sort of ) for this kind of wine in the Wachau. Source: Dr. Peter Ruhrberg, Saarbrücken, personal communication, 9/2007. jhtRotes TorTiny single ingle vinyard near the village Spitz in Wachau, Austria. on weinlagen-info.deAustria Wein aus Österreich (Österreichischen Weinmarketinggesellschaft) | Austrian Wine Classifications (Winemonger.com)Niederösterreich Weinstraße Niederösterreich
Lower Austria Wine Region
Lower Austria isn't "southern" Austria, but rather northeastern. It derives its name from its downriver location on the Danube River, which flows from west to east.Wachau Official tourism website
on weinlagen-info |
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