Franz Hirtzberger Kirchweg Grüner Veltliner Smaragd 2015 [WE 95]

“An appetizing top note of candied lemon peel hovers over the glass before spicy hints of pear peel become apparent. The palate is edged with very precise zesty grapefruit hints that frame and corset a most generously white-pepper-spiced host of pear and yellow plum fruit. It is the structure of that zesty acidity that make this luminous and appetizing. This is rich but concentrated; delicious now but built to last.” Wine Enthusiast 95 Points

“Picked near the end of October, this smells of ripe apricot and white peach that could come from a Riesling, but accompanied by snap pea and cress. These elements complement one another delightfully on a silken-textured palate that exhibits unexpected lift for a relatively late-picked Smaragd. The richly-sustained finish lends a hint of caramel to the luscious pit fruits, yet there is a striking sense of vibrancy as well as of transparency to stony, crystalline, and iodine-like mineral notes. Crunchy, nippy snap pea and cress rise to the task of invigoration, while a suggestion of shrimp-shell reduction serves to stimulate the salivary glands and encourage, indeed practically compel, the next sip. As Irmgard Hirtzberger points out, since the family’s first wine from these vines was a 2010 (and the 2014 fruit was blended into that vintage’s Rotes Tor Federspiel), assessments of ageworthiness must be considered tentative. "But given our track record with Grüner Veltliner Smaragd in general," she added, ‘I'd say it’s a good bet that this will handle 15 years in bottle with no problem.’” Vinous 94 Points