2012 Franz Hirtzberger Riesling Hochrain Smaragd

Fascinatingly nutty and ashen elements in the Hirtzberger 2012 Riesling Smaragd Hochrain mingle with a lusciously juicy matrix of white peach and grapefruit that guarantees consummate finishing refreshment, while mineral salts and peach kernel serve for saliva-inducement and invigoration. A sense of glycerol-richness adds further allure, without entirely smoothing-over slight graininess. This Riesling actively engages with your imagination and every part of your body involved in smell and taste, and bids fare to do so through at least 2020. A starkly simple but profoundly impressive little tasting room (something that never really existed at this famous estate) in the former pressoir under their medieval stone home, is hardly the most noteworthy new development at this winery. The Hirtzbergers have bought at auction the Florianihof in Wosendorf (whence their mid-17th century ancestors first repaired from Styria) and will not only begin farming and making wines from the affiliated acreage but will revive the restaurant that the former owners long ran. The 2012 collection here is not only awe-inspiring in its sheer quality, it also offers intriguing and encouraging insights into what lies in this estate's future as generations change guard. Importer: Weygandt-Metzler Importing, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0700