B-21 Top Recommendation
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Beyond their sometimes difficult to pronounce names, wine insiders and critics alike count these highly rated Austrian white wines from the legendary Franz Hirtzberger among the world's best. Sourced from one of the top Austrian vintages in a decade, this selection of 2019 Weingut Franz Hirtzberger whites are not to be missed, offering a unique opportunity to enjoy a range of exceptional wines from one of Austria's most esteemed producers at value pricing.
Based in the cooler western end of the Wachau, Weingut Franz Hirtzberger is renowned for producing dry white wines from Riesling, Gruner Veltliner and Pinot Blanc sourced from some of the region's best single-vineyard terraces. Part of a meandering landscape of picturesque small villages interspersed with lush forest and rugged rock formations stretching along the Danube River, the steep terraced vineyards of Wachau overlook the village of Spitz and the 600-year-old ivy-covered house that has been home to the last five generations of Hirtzbergers. As one of the founders of the regulatory group Vinea Wachau, the "senior" Franz was a pioneer in the movement to establish sustainable viticultural guidelines in the region, establishing uniform labeling standards according to finished alcohol levels – among them, "Steinfeder," rarely found outside Austria, a lighter, fresh style, with a maximum of 11.5% abv; "Federspiel" a racy, elegant style between 11.5% and 12.5% and "Smaragd," made from the ripest grapes, at least 12.5% and also considered the richest and most ageworthy. Sharing his father's intimate knowledge of each unique parcel, Franz's son (also Franz) practices meticulous work in the vines, pursuing optimal ripeness with four to five passes through each vineyard at harvest. Fermenting with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel, the younger Franz ages the wines in large, older foudres with limited time on the lees, a unique feature of the Hirtzberger wines intended to best express the purity and minerality of each parcel.
Exhibiting mouth-coating ripe fruit and mineral-tinged acidity, each Hirtzberger selection offers multi-faceted layers of complexity, from the 95pt 2019 Riesling Wachau Steinterrassen Federspiel, a “masterpiece” according to critic James Suckling to the "perfectly balanced" 94pt 2019 Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) Smaragd and the 98pt 2019 Gruner Veltliner Smaragd Honivogl declared "a gorgeously elegant and refined Veltliner" by the Wine Advocate's Stephan Reinhardt, reflecting the finest nuances of the vineyard and the vintage. Lovers of the world's best white wines will want to take advantage of this rare opportunity to mix a case of these exceptional wines crafted by one of the best – fascinating to compare and contrast and above all, a pleasure to savor and enjoy. | 
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