Weingut Hirsch Hirschvergnugen Gruner Veltliner 2017
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Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Bright yellow green hue, expressive fresh citrus aromas with delicate fruity characters on the palate, leading to a crisp yellow apple taste. Pure drinking pleasure. An impressive varietal Grüner Veltliner with a nimble body, charming, juicy fruit characters and signature pepper spice. Refreshing and quaffable.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine's ripe pear fruit and leesy yeastiness make it seem like a raw tank sample. On the palate, the yeastiness expresses itself as savory texture, framing fresh lemon notes and peppery highlights. The finish is dry and long.
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James Suckling
A very lively grüner veltliner with nice spritz, plus enough pear and green-pepper character to satisfy. Refreshing and very clean at the finish. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
Other Vintages
2020-
Suckling
James
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Suckling
James
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Enthusiast
Wine
Hirsch takes full advantage of the distinct terroirs found in the Lamm, Gaisberg and Heiligenstein vineyards. Johannes farms his vineyards sustainably and biodynamically and is certified by RESPEKT! Natural efforts have been made to ensure physiologically ripe grapes including high density planting, low trellising, canopy management and handpicking.
Fun to say and delightfully easy to drink, Grüner Veltliner calls Austria its homeland. While some easily quaffable Grüners come in a one-liter—a convenient size—many high caliber single vineyard bottlings can benefit from cellar aging. Somm Secret—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.
Appreciated for superior wines made from indigenous varieties, Austria should be on the radar of any curious wine drinker. A rather cool and dry wine growing region, this country produces wine that is quintessentially European in style: food-friendly with racy acidity, moderate alcohol and fresh fruit flavors.
Austria’s viticultural history is rich and vast, dating back to Celtic tribes with first written record of winemaking starting with the Romans. But the 20th century brought Austria a series of winemaking obstacles, namely the plunder of both world wars, as well as its own self-imposed quality breach. In the mid 1980s, after a handful of shameless vintners were found to have added diethylene glycol (a toxic substance) to their sweet wines to imitate the unctuous qualities imparted by botrytis, Austria’s credibility as a wine-producing country was compromised. While no one was harmed, the incident forced the country to rebound and recover stronger than ever. By the 1990s, Austria was back on the playing field with exports and today is prized globally for its quality standards and dedication to purity and excellence.
Grüner Veltliner, known for its racy acidity and herbal, peppery aromatics, is Austria's most important white variety, comprising nearly a third of Austrian plantings. Riesling in Austria is high in quality but not quantity, planted on less than 5% of the country’s vineyard land. Austrian Rieslings are almost always dry and are full of bright citrus flavors and good acidity. Red varietal wines include the tart and peppery Zweigelt, spicy and dense Blaufränkisch and juicy Saint Laurent. These red varieties are also sometimes blended.