Weingut Hirsch Kammern Gruner Veltliner 2020
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James
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A Gruner Veltliner of great aromatics with a spicy and supple taste.
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Wine & Spirits
Johannes Hirsch blends fruit from several of his first-class vineyard sites—including Lamm and Gaisberg—for this wine. The result in 2019 is opulent, a grüner veltliner that’s lemon-bright and creamy. A leesy richness builds into the wine, adding texture without weight, so that it feels like a cloud in the mouth, if clouds were made of candied lemon peel, powdered rocks and meringue.
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James Suckling
Sliced lemons and honey with some walnuts and stone. It’s medium-bodied with a pretty core of fruit and a walnut undertone at the end. Pineapple, too.
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Hirsch takes full advantage of the distinct terroirs found in the Lamm, Gaisberg and Heiligenstein vineyards. Johannes farms his vineyards sustainably and biodynamically and is certified by RESPEKT! Natural efforts have been made to ensure physiologically ripe grapes including high density planting, low trellising, canopy management and handpicking.
Fun to say and delightfully easy to drink, Grüner Veltliner calls Austria its homeland. While some easily quaffable Grüners come in a one-liter—a convenient size—many high caliber single vineyard bottlings can benefit from cellar aging. Somm Secret—About 75% of the world’s Grüner Veltliner comes from Austria but the variety is gaining ground in other countries, namely Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the United States.
Climbing north and slightly east of the Kremstal region, Kamptal has very little vineyard area bordering the Danube River (unlike Wachau and Kremstal, whose vineyards run along it). The region takes its name from the river called Kamp, which traverses it north and south. Kamptal’s densely planted vineyards represent eight percent of Austria’s total.
The area experiences wide diurnal temperature variations like the Wachau but with less rain and more frost. Its vast geologic diversity makes it suitable for various experimentations with other varieties besides Grüner Veltliner and Riesling, such as Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc (Weissburgunder), Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, St. Laurent and Zweigelt.
But the region is probably most noted for the beautiful and expansive terraced Heiligenstein, arguably one of the world’s top Riesling sites, as well as some of Austria’s most extraordinary Grüner Veltliner vineyards. Kamptal’s soils, which are mostly loess and sand with some gravel and rocks, make it suitable for Grüner Veltliner, so much so that actually half of the zone is planted to that grape.