2015 Riesling Hochrain Smaragd

Harvested in late October from what Irmgard Hirtzberger called “some of the loveliest Riesling berries you’d ever want to see,” this delivers an enthralling nose and satiny, lusciously juicy palate that brim with ripe white peach and quince, garlanded with lily-of-the-valley and tinged with alkaline, saline sea breeze. Hints of peach kernel, almond extract, wet stone and moss add intrigue and allure to a superbly sustained, at once enveloping and enlivening finish. For my taste, Hirtzberger’s Hochrain not only consistently outperforms its showier, more opulent and more renowned sibling at table, but also characteristically preserves its more elegant, animated personality past the point where the Singerriedel has peaked.

The 2015 Riesling Smaragd Spitzer Hochrain displays a somewhat untamed but fascinatingly pure and stony bouquet with intense and concentrated, but discreet, fruit aromas. Warm, ripe and juicy on the palate, this is a medium to full-bodied, rather lean and piquant Riesling with a ripe and elegant fruit, a good phenolic structure and a juicy and fruit-intense finish. Very charming, but not as pure and mineral as the Federspiel Steinterrassen and the Setzberg.