Austria 2022

The 2022 Grüner Veltliner Treu is taut, elegant, and effortless to drink. There’s some of Grüner’s signature white pepper and celery notes on the nose, while on the palate the wine shows loads of phenolic freshness, with lots of intense, creamy fruit that belies its status as a village level wine. We had to check (several times) that we hadn’t mistaken this for a single vineyard cuvée, and this is the best value wine from the estate, if not the entire Wachau Valley.

The Kollmitz hill – not to be confused with the larger, nearby hill of Kollmütz – is located in the village of Joching, just north of Mathias’ home in Wösendorf. And the wine itself is even more complex and nuanced than the naming conventions of neighbouring Austrian hills. There’s inviting tangerine zest, grapefruit, and yellow tropical fruits notes that jump out of the glass, while the steely acidity and sleek finish make this an absolute joy to drink. If there’s any proof you need that Mathias Hirtzberger is among the country’s top echelon of Riesling growers, this 2022 Riesling Ried Kollmitz is it.

The 2022 Riesling Zier is particularly cool on the nose, with notes of lemon sherbet and grapefruit. There’s plenty of freshness to be found here, and it would be hard to find a better summer wine for the table, but it’s got the legs to age if you can resist drinking it.

The Spitaler cuvée is sourced from just the old vines in the vineyard, which were planted back in 1962. There’s plenty of old-vine intensity and complexity in this, without losing any of the lift and energy that defines Mathias’ wines. There’s some honeyed yellow apple on the nose, while fresh pineapple and delicate spicy notes grace the palate. It will be hard not to tuck in to this bottle straight away, but patience will be well rewarded.

With its impressive dry stone walls, the imposing Kollmütz vineyard is the defining landmark of the village of Wösendorf where Mathias Hirtzberger and his wife Hanna are based. Mathias’ wines are defined by their freshness and weightless energy, and this impressive Grüner Veltliner is a perfect illustration of what the young winemaker can do. In 2022 the Kollmütz shows the same creamy texture of the region’s best wines, but is perhaps the most balanced and lifted example of any Smaragd Grüner from the vintage we’ve tried.

This tantalising wine has been made especially for Lay & Wheeler from the deep sand and Löess soils from the Sandgrube vineyard. The nose displays wonderful aromas of citrus, crushed shells and white pepper. The acidity is crisp and refreshing, with an attractive saline palate. Such a great example of the indigenous grape, Grüner Veltliner, produced by a grower that is greatly admired in the region.

This wine comes from the lower terraces of the Achleiten vineyard at around 300 metres and is largely planted on loess and white sand. Juicy in its profile with hints of jasmine and wild herbs, expect fresh apricot, peach and lemon citrus notes with a racy acidity and salty finish.

The Steinriegel site comes from a the northern part of the valley and is dominated by a chalk silicate and marble soil. Toni Bodenstein believes that this wine produces his fruitier styles, especially with a mid palate concentration. Fresh mango, pink grapefruit and red apple notes lead the charge, yet the palate is brought into focus with the wine’s crisp and energetic acidity.

This wine comes from Prager’s highest terraces in the Achleiten vineyard with over 100+ different clones in a small parcel that creates big genetic variation and diversity. Grapefruit and lemon citrus profile with white pepper and ginger spice layers. The acidity is focused and zesty with a long and saline finish.

A vineyard that is only 0.73 hectares and sits on the eastern part of the village on very steep terraces, close to Achleiten this cuvée is often more austere than some of the estate’s other wines. It is largely gneiss soils and incredibly poor soils that produce grapes with low yield yet with great concentration. Crushed stones, smoke with ginger and lemon verbena herbal notes. The acidity is crisp and nervy and the length is incredibly long. Would benefit from decanting.

Achleiten is one of Prager’s most recognised vineyard sites, with this cuvée coming from a parcel that is largely gneiss, with the vines planted in the 50s on the lower terraces at around 220 metres. This wine is often the most open and floral of all of the Prager wines with classic white pepper notes supported by crushed stone and lime.

With an aromatic core of orange blossom and stone fruits enveloped by a nutty and herbaceous texture, the 2022 Grüner Veltliner Loibner is so vibrant and focussed. Though it’s a village level wine, the length, creaminess, and complexity on the palate mean that you could easily mistake it for one of the Wachau’s top crus. It’s zingy, intriguing, and utterly delicious.

The 2022 Gelber Muskateller from the Loibner vineyard is a perfect representation of the grape variety and place. There’s a saline, mineral, and lime-tinged backbone that’s framed by beautiful floral aromatics, stone fruit, and passionfruit notes. There’s something almost Sancerre-like about the wine’s lip-smacking, chalky texture and it’s impressively complex for the price.

The wines of the Wachau have long been defined by mineral and peppery whites made from Grüner Veltliner planted on pure loess soils. And in that context, there are few wines more characteristic than Weingut Knoll’s Ried Kreutles Grüner Veltliner. The Kreutles vineyard sits at the bottom of the Loibenberg with pure loess soils that are perfect for Grüner, and in 2022 it particularly impresses with its complexity and finesse.

First documented in 1381, the Loibenberg is one of Austria’s most storied sites. There’s a silky, velvety texture that makes Weingut Knoll’s 2022 Grüner Veltliner Loibenberg completely irresistible. It’s lighter on its feet than some other Smaragd wines from the vintage, but the harmonious balance of textures, stone-fruited flavours and minerality set it apart as a timeless classic. It dances along the palate like a Viennese waltz, and goes on for ages like a Wagner opera.

At approximately 40 hectares, the Setzberg vineyard is the largest single vineyard in the Hirtzbergers’ home village of Spitz. And it’s a dream site for Riesling. The 2022 Setzberg is full of passionfruit and lime aromas, some white peach on the palate, and a spine of racy acidity. This is long, complex, and livelier than a Cocker Spaniel. Don’t miss it.

‘Smaragd’ denotes grapes picked with the highest level of ripeness, and in 2022 the Axpoint Grüner Veltliner is intensely concentrated with yellow tropical fruits that jump out of the glass. There’s a velvety texture, perfectly judged acidity, and an extraordinary length. This is completely captivating in its youth, but there’s no doubt that it has the structure to age for a long, long time.

With an estate based in the southwestern corner of the Wachau Valley, five generations of Hirtzbergers have tended their 12 hectares of precipitously steep vines that overlook the Danube. Riesling Singerriedel is their flagship wine, and many would argue that it’s the finest Riesling in all of Austria. Each vine in Singerriedel is individually hand tended and inspected around one hundred times in the season, and this attention to detail translates into a showstopping wine that is an authentic expression of place and vintage. In 2022, the nose shows a hint of orange blossom and white stone fruit, while the palate is a perfect balance between structure and finesse. It’s elegant, immensely pleasing, and clearly world-class.

This is a spectacular Grüner sourced from gneiss, schist and brown soils in the Hirtzberger family’s southwestern corner of the Wachau. The vineyards are set on precipitously steep terraces above the Danube, and the process of hand-farming the land is extremely labour-intensive. The 2022 iteration of the Rotes Tor Grüner Veltliner is rich and textured, brimming with yellow apple notes, and balanced with a spine of vibrant acidity. This is always one of Franz Hirtzberger’s most impressive wines, and it stands out in 2022.

The 2022 Honivogl is all about salinity, herbaceousness, and restraint. Delicate aromas of ripe Bosc pear and watercress are evident on the nose, while on the palate, there’s an umami character that complements the fruit. If you like ponzu sauce, you’ll absolutely love this.