Visit to Franz Hirtzberger Winery (2004 Vintage)

My wife and I visited this winery in the Wachau Valley of Austria in August. By far, this was the most impressive collection of 2004 wines that we tasted in the Wachau. Better in my opinion than FX Pichler, Knoll or Alzinger.

We stopped into the Hirtzberger winery/home in the town of Spitz without an appointment. We were greeted by the 19 year old Son of Franz, Mateus. All of the wines poured were from the 2004 vintage.

The Hirtzberger family has been in the Wachau for 5 generations. The wines are terrior driven. Franz practices intensive canopy management, employs a green harvest (in 2004 this occurred in July) particularly for his Gruve and the grapes are hand picked in several passes to obtain the ripest grapes. The wines are naturally fermented in steel tanks and then some of the wines are aged in large traditional acacia wood barrels called "holzfass".

Here are my notes

• 2004 Franz Hirtzberger Riesling Federspiel Steinterrassen 86 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  This wine is made from grapes selected in the first pass through the vineyards. It is a blend of the different terraced vineyards owned by the estate. The simplest of the wines I tried. Very clean and easy drinking. Notes of apple and pear. Light to medium bodied. 86 points.

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• 2004 Franz Hirtzberger Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Axpoint 90 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Axpoint is a relatively flat vineyard behind the family home. Aged 4 months in "holzfass". It has richer soil than the terraced vineyard and as a result can be counted on to pruduce a plumper wine. This was no exception. A unique vanilla scented nose. Fuller fruit notes of green apple and apricot paste. The WA liked this slightly better than I did and gave it 91 points. I give it 89-90 points.

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• 2004 Franz Hirtzberger Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Honivogl 93 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  My wife tried this wine, turned to Mateus and said "ich bin ein der vogel". Literally, it means "man you have a bird" but figuratively means "man you are crazy". She was referring to the name of the vineyard (Honigvogl) which means "honey bird" and the intense nature of this wine. This is one of Hirstbergers prime sites. The vines were replanted 15-20 years ago. In 2004, about 10% of the grapes were botrytized in this wine. The wine was aged 4 months in large Acacia barrels. Beautifully balance for being so young. Full bodied. Creamy white fruit and alpine flowers. Smooth finish. Give this 8-20 years. 92-94 points.

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• 2004 Franz Hirtzberger Riesling Smaragd Hochrain 91 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Franz waited until November to harvest this wine and his patience paid off. Hochrain is a flat vineyard about halfway up the hill from the Danube. The soil is loam over stone. Full bodied with solid acidity. Creamy tropical fruit notes with excellent minerality. The WA liked this better than I did and gave it a 94. I gave it 91+ points.

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• 2004 Franz Hirtzberger Riesling Smaragd Singerriedel 93 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  This is Hirtzbergers top site and as a result the wines are not cheap (even in Austria). He bought this vineyard in 1979 and has replanted parts of it. The vines average about 15 years old now. The vineyard is on a slope behind the house. An aromatic wine. Notes of green apple and white fruit. Sharp piercing acidity which could use some time to integrate. Botrytis was clearly present. Full bodied. 93 points.

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• 2004 Franz Hirtzberger Grauburgunder Smaragd Pluris 88 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  This is a Pinot Gris. The Pluris vineyard is actually a North facing slope. The grapes were the last harvested at this estate in November. It was aged for 4 months in old wood. I have had the 1997 Grauburgunder before and liked it better than the 2004. This wine had some dill on the nose. Notes of marshmellow, herb and apple were on the palate. The wine had a little more sugar than the Riesling or Gruve. 87-89 points.

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• 2004 Franz Hirtzberger Chardonnay Smaragd Schlossgarten 90 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  A wonderful wine. No oak in the aging process (already I liked it). Lean at first. On the midpalate, a little creamier fruit than the other wines poured. Solid notes of apple and spices. Long finish. 89-90 points.

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• 2004 Franz Hirtzberger Weissburgunder Beerenauslese 96 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  This is not made every year and is normally the ripest wine made by the estate. Franz made a TBA once in 2000 but did not sell any to the public. Only 500 bottles were made and none are shipped to the US. The grapes for this wine are 30-40% botrytized. This dessert wine has gripping acidity and a beautiful nose that made me delay trying the wine so I could take in the flower and tropical aromas. Full bodied with notes of candied green apple, mango and melon. Long finish. Just gorgeous. 95-96 points.

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After this visit, Hirtzberger, who was always among my top 5 Austrian producer, has moved to the head of the class. We only bought the GV Honigvogl and the Weissburgunder BA due to space limitations.

VM