The Rarest Bottle in Austria? (Part II or III?)
2009 Alzinger Riesling Hohereck Smaragd
This is both a wine and an obsession...
...the little, unknown, darling "Hohereck" vineyard. This is a gifted little plot of land just east of Kellerberg, just west of Loibenberg, just above Schütt.
That's sort of like being just east of Central Park, just west of Madison Avenue and just above 60th street. In other words, this is prime real estate.
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Yet, unlike the "Grand" reputations of the Kellerberg (in my opinion the greatest site in Austria) and the Loibenberg, the Hohereck is a tiny vineyard and very little of it is actually bottled - historically, none of the wine ever made it into the U.S.
I have made it one of my life's more absurdist goals to introduce this vineyard to the U.S. I have spent altogether WAY too much time building a mini-vertical of Hohereck at the store that spans 2005 to 2010.
For those who value detail, precision, clarity, there are simply no better wines coming out of Austria. I've written this before, but for those of you who enjoy Chablis for its array of stone and rock, for those of you who thrill to the delicate, porcelain-like Rieslings from the Saar Valley, the wines of Alzinger will blow you away.
The Rieslings of Alzinger whisper, they are quiet, angelic, crystal clear with flawless balance, clarity.
The Hohereck combines many of the best qualities of its more famous neighbors. As with the Kellerberg, the Hohereck is ultimately about mineral and elegance; as with the Loibenberg, the Hohereck delivers an impressive depth of fruit, complexity.
Yet, above all these qualities, there is something about the stature and size of the Hohereck that I love; it feels somehow more compact, without losing any of the nuance.
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To order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463. Give us your maximum order and we'll do our best - all orders are subject to confirmation.
Stephen Bitterolf
Wine Director
Crush Wine & Spirits
