Critic ratings
robert_parker
2010
Rating:
90
–90
Hiedler’s 2010 Gruner Veltliner Thal displays a delightfully dynamic interaction of citrus, herb, and incisive as well as peppery mineral elements. A saline savor akin to shrimp shell reduction adds mouthwatering appeal to the juicy – if by Hiedler’s standards relatively spare – palate. This vibrantly finishing Veltliner should drink well for at least half a dozen years.
Ludwig Hiedler – whose overall account of vintage 2010 can be found leading-off my introduction to this report – notes that “given such a small crop, ripeness wasn’t that bad once you got into October; and we started picking relatively early so as not to risk further crop loss and so as to avoid botrytis. All that was left to pick in November was the Heiligenstein and Maximum Riesling; Weissburgunder and Chardonnay; and the Kittmannsberg (Gruner Veltliner),” that last a good thing, since Hiedler has for years bottled its fruits under the name “November Harvest” (recently shortened to “November”)! Hiedler has taken an increasingly passive and leisurely approach to fermentation and elevage – as described in my introductions to his 2005 and 2006 collections in issues 160 and 177, where further details on the sites he farms will also be found. His wines tend to undergo malo-lactic transformation as a matter of course, not to mention enjoy long lees contact, and thus his approach to ameliorating 2010’s high acidity was already a foregone conclusion.
Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300
robert_parker
2004
Rating:
87
–87
With its aromas of beet root and sugar snap peas, there is no mistaking the grape on display in Hiedler’s 2004 Gruner Veltliner Thal. This medium-bodied wine also displays considerably more palate weight (and was picked two weeks later) than the Spiegel and Vier Weinberge. Hints of citrus rind, crushed stone, and ground pepper pungency inform the finish, which is formidably long, if faintly bitter.
Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300
robert_parker
2005
Rating:
89
–89
Hiedler’s 2005 Gruner Veltliner Thal smells of beet root, orange zest, and white pepper. Rich and creamy on the palate – quite suggestive of his more active and protracted approach to the lees – it subtly mingles sweet herbs, beet root, plum, pepper, and nutmeg, culminating in a sedate finish. Incidentally, there will be two bottlings of Thal this year: a second portion was late to ferment, and still in tank when I tasted this one.
Also recommended: 2005 Riesling Loiser Berg ($24.00; 85), 2004 Riesling Steinhaus ($33.00; 85+), 2005 Weissburgunder Spiegel (not available; 86).
Ludwig Hiedler – now that he has a spacious new cellar – is working to see how many chemical and mechanical accretions of modernity he can strip away. Spontaneous fermentation, no supplemental enzymes and no added sulfur to the must will, he has come to believe, make for wines much more expressive and distinctive, even if they are then slower to open in the spring and may mature a bit (“but only a bit”) sooner. This approach is a reaction to what Hiedler sees as standardization of wine as well as an attempt to bring cellar practices into harmony with his herbicide- and pesticide-free ideals in the vineyard. “And there’s a third reason,” he adds. “I’m looking for excitement. There’s always excitement in the vineyard, and I want some of that inside the cellar as well.” His new approach is having an immediate effect in lower alcohol, Hiedler surmises, on account of less efficient conversions by natural yeasts. Wines are finishing with as much as three-quarters of a degree less alcohol, he claims, than they would previously have done with the identical must weights.
Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300
robert_parker
2006
Rating:
90
–90
Riesling-like scents of lime and tangerine zest rise from the 2006 Gruner Veltliner Thal, which hits the palate with all the frisky citricity that this description suggests. And yet, there is a subtle suggestion of creaminess here too. One certainly notes fullness here from the 14.1% alcohol, but not only is this (I started to write “Riesling”) free of heat, it’s full of energy and refreshment. The finish is smoky and pungent, with green tea, blond tobacco, bitter-sweet citrus oils and Sichuan pepper pungency. This should be worth following for at least 6-8 years.
Ludwig Hiedler continues his new, risk-taking cellar approach (discussed in Issue 166), and there are several changes in his line-up that will be detailed below at the appropriate juncture. The harvest here neatly filled the month of October, though Hiedler says he would have happily picked earlier and had lower levels of alcohol if only the grapes had tasted ripe. Still he seemed as pleasantly surprised as I was that alcohol was not more evident on the palate, no doubt in part a tribute to the slower (spontaneous) fermentations and longer lees contact that Hiedler’s wines are now getting. “With these long fermentations,” Hiedler notes, “the acid levels drop, but despite that the impression of acidity is still imposing.” Incidentally, Hiedler has begun offering his clients the choice between screw cap and cork, with the result that his wines in the U.S. will have screw cap closures while – for the time being at least – one will be more apt to find corks sealing his wines in the Austrian market.
Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300
robert_parker
2007
Rating:
90
–90
Hiedler’s 2007 Gruner Veltliner Thal offers surprisingly overt, Riesling-like fruitiness of grapefruit, pineapple, and peach. Opulent and subtly oily in texture, this nonetheless retains a winsome succulence and ability to refresh, with white pepper, wood smoke, and peach kernel providing finishing counterpoint. I suspect it will show well for at least 4-5 years.
The effects of Ludwig Hiedler’s new, high-risk vinification (about which, consult issues 166 and 177 for details) continue to be felt in wines of enhanced clarity yet at the same time more, not less of the textural allure that has always been a feature here. Today’s Hiedler wines need longer to ferment, to be bottled, and to express themselves in bottle, but your patience will be rewarded. Furthermore, I can not recall a more consistently excellent collection at this address. Although he began picking some Gruner Veltliner in loess sites and rental properties on September 20, Hiedler says “only at the end of September did we have fruit approaching ripeness for single vineyard wines. Then the weather turned at the middle of October” and picking became more protracted, sporadic and selective. “We harvested until the middle of November, and, yes, at the very end there was some botrytis,” Hiedler relates, but he insists that thick, rudely healthy berries (of which he produced photos) were the norm here this year. The bottled results certainly confirm that! (This year’s collection includes a Gruner Veltliner Beerenauslese and an Eiswein which Hiedler was not ready to show at the time I last visited. I also did not taste Hiedler’s latest Chardonnay.)
Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300
robert_parker
2000
Rating:
87
–87
The 2000 Gruner Veltliner Thal, harvested on October 15th, reveals a sweet, spicy nose of minerals, and spring onions. On the palate, this thick and creamy Gruner has excellent palate presence. It is loaded with rich pear, mineral and spice flavors. Enjoy this delicious wine over the next 4-5 years.
Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Martin Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300