2023 Weingut Hirsch, Grüner Veltliner, Hirschvergnügen, Kamptal DAC, Austria.
The pale gold 2023 Hirschvergnügen Grüner by Hirsch is racy, quaffable and shows off a simple and direct lighter framed palate with lemon/lime, white peach, muskmelon and unripe pear fruits, along with white pepper, bitter almond, delicate florals, clove and wet stone. This very easy Grüner was a nice aperitif or Summer sipper and its low alcohol feel makes it refreshing and a good choice with lighter cuisine, especially oysters, white fish, salads and poultry. Hirsch, all organic and practicing biodynamic, sources this Grüner Veltliner from its Kamptal sites, some ancient plots included with a mix of calcareous and loamy soils, which is derived from the underlying loess. The spontaneous fermentation and elevage was done with a slow and gentle whole bunch pressing, with the vinification and nine months lees aging in exclusively stainless steel tank. Hirsch went to all screw cap in 2002 and winemaker Johannes Hirsch says his wines take a while to evolve and this wine seems to show that. These wines can be slightly reductive and they see no malos, so they are very lively and acid driven, but with salty and mineral notes, as seen here.
Hirsch, run by Johannes Hirsch, who has gained much attention for his vibrant Riesling and Grüner since the mid 2000s, uses biodynamic preparations and follows the lunar cycle for his vineyard work. Most all of Johannes’ of holdings are on the slopes in the villages of Zöbing and Kammern, which his importer Skurnik notes are home to the famous Heiligenstein and Gaisberg Riesling vineyards as well as Lamm, Grub, Renner and Kammerner Gaisberg for Grüner Veltliner. I got a chance to meet Hirsch in 2015 or 2016 and admired the tension and energy in the wines here and it was cool to rediscover his wines with this 2023 vintage Hirschvergnügen Grüner Veltliner recently, which was available at my local favorite Bear and Flag Roadside deli by the glass. It even went well with their Roadside Ripper hotdog and spicy fries on the warm sunny patio, perfect on a lazy afternoon and a no pretense meal. The upper end cru Erste Lage wines see some oak aging depending on vintage and are deeper in style and while under the radar, rival some of the greats here, near the Danube, west of Vienna in the Wachau, Kamptal and Krems area. I highly recommend this one for earlier drinking and simplicity and I also would suggest checking out the Lamm Grüner and the Ried Gaisberg Riesling.
($22 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive