Hirsch - Grüner Veltliner "Ried Renner" 1 ÖTW 2021 (750ml)
Price: $65.99
| Producer | Hirsch |
| Country | Austria |
| Region | Kamptal |
| Varietal | Grüner Veltliner |
| Vintage | 2021 |
| Sku | 205764 |
| Size | 750ml |
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Hirsch Description
If wines reflect the winemaker, Johannes Hirsch’s collection of Rieslings and Grüner Veltliners are full of energy and vitality. Johannes’ father started farming organically in the 1970’s and in 2006 Johannes was one of the founding members of Respekt – a new biodynamic certification started as an alternative to Demeter, which was then the only certification. Respekt has branched out from Austria and now covers “German speaking areas” including Germany and Northern Italy. Respekt is an independent organization and takes a holistic view to biodynamics; the charter that members sign onto is a set of criteria which is certified twice per year by Lacon – it is not a “certification by way of an honor system” as some naysayers have suggested.
In the vineyard Hirsch uses biodynamic preparations and follows the lunar cycle for vineyard work. 85% of his holdings are in the slopes in the villages of Zöbing and Kammern, home to the Heiligenstein and Gaisberg Riesling vineyards as well as Lamm, Grub, Renner and Kammerner Gaisberg for Grüner Veltliner, though he is quick to note that “the grape variety is just a way to transport terroir. One hundred years ago, you might just find the village name on the label or the vineyard and no mention of the variety; it was not so important.” A full two thirds of his holdings are in classified, Erste Lagen vineyards.
In addition to biodynamic practices, Hirsch utilizes soft pruning, a method he learned in Alto Adige to minimize the amount of cuts and thus lessening the amount of tissue exposed to disease and old wood near the pruned area. In the vineyards, manure from celebrated cheese maker Robert Paget’s water buffalo and goats, grazing in the pastures in front of the vineyards, are used.
At harvest, a rigorous selection is made in the vineyard and clean grapes harvested by hand, without botrytis. The basic wines and and village wines are normally fermented and matured in stainless steel while the Erste Lage wines are done in a mixture of steel and oak, depending on the vintage.
Hirsch doesn’t allow malolactic and avoids botrytis with a rigorous selection as he works with longer lees aging, though again, nothing is done by formula. “I like when we leave the wines on the lees until late Spring, racking the wines in June, for the first time. I also believe in maturation in the bottle – my wines need time for development and in 2002, when we switched entirely to screwcap (the first winery in Austria to do so by the way) we were already a year later than may of our neighbors in release. Now we are pushing two years” remarked Hirsch on a recent visit.
Kammerner Renner – Below the Zöbinger Gaisberg. Calcareous sandy silt with loess and erosion from crystalline rocks – amphibolite, gneiss and mica schist.
Vinous: 93 Points
The 2021 Grüner Veltliner Renner presents notions of fresh moss and moist, green forest floor, with mere glimpses of yellow pear. The palate has immediate yeastiness. Cool, edged with lemon and absolutely precise and poised, it plunges into salty white miso depth. The mossy, green, juicy savoriness has smatterings of pepper, echoing with beautiful resonance on a note of ripe lemon.
(Bone-dry)
Wine Advocate: 92 Points
Hirsch's 2021 Kammern Grüner Veltliner Ried Renner 1ÖTW offers a clear, pure, bright and fresh nose with white fruit and crystalline stone as well as spicy (clove) aromas. Lush and playful on the palate, this is a medium to full-bodied, transparent, fresh and elegant Veltliner with remarkable finesse and stimulating phenolic grip. Dry and savory, this is a highly stimulating gastronomic Renner with good aging potential.
13% stated alcohol. Screw-cap closure.
