by Rahsaan » Fri Feb 09, 2018 9:52 pm
Been drinking a few bottles of Austrian wine these past weeks.
2009 Hirtzberger Rotes Tor GV Smaragd
Been through several bottles of this since last fall, and there is some variation but overall I like this interpretation of the grape very very much. Ripe enough to have a fullish body and plenty of things to smell and watch develop with air. Such a heavy heavy fragrance. And I mean that in a good way. But also fresh and mineral and far from heavy on the palate. Shows best with air and warmer than the refrigerator temp. So I need to remember not to uncork the bottle and serve directly to my guests!
2010 Hirtzberger Hochrain Riesling Smaragd
Had a gorgeous bottle of this in November 2017, so my hopes were high when the January 2018 bottle soared with explosive aromatics directly from the corkpull. Rich, ripe, golden almond oils. It made me want to taste! But, when I tasted, the palate fell apart, tinned, with no grip, and no complexity. And never changed much over several hours. Maybe this bottle had a bad history. Or maybe the wine itself is in the inconsistent stage. Either way, it was not to be.
2012 Tegernseerhof Höhereck GV Smaragd
Drank a couple bottles of this. Had never seen the vineyard before, perhaps because it's a tiny thing. But with some fancy neighbors (Kellerberg, Loibenberg and Schütt). Had also never drunk Tegernseerfhof before, so I was learning on all dimensions! Overall, both bottles were nice, fresh, crisp and hinting at oily GV-ness. Lots of typical notes (herbal, golden, spicy), but all in a modest balanced frame, nothing screaming for attention. This made it the perfect dinner party wine, because it was real enough to keep me interested, but also easy to open-and-pour and not too precious or finicky. Good stuff.
2011 Tegernseerhof Steinertal Riesling Smaragd
Following in the mold of the Höhereck, this was elegant, and correct, but not too complex and easy to pour. Slight golden tinge to the fruit, but also plenty of crisp, coiled Steinertal elements. No idea how this will age and what may develop, but it serves a lovely casual dinner party purpose right now.
2016 Gobelsburg Kamptal GV
Fresh and fine, but coming the day after a bottle of 09 Hirtzberger Rotes Tor GV Smaragd, it may have been difficult to give its proper due. Sure, it was a fine companion to food. But it also lacked the extra magical verve that one might want from a basic entry-level cuvee from a top producer. Maybe I should have listened to the wine store clerk, who told me the 2016 Anton Bauer Gmork was the wine 'to crush', but for some reason that language turned me off!!