Harvested mid-November, the Hirtzberger 2010 Riesling Smaragd Setzberg displays apple, lime and gooseberry in a tart, Sauvignon-like way, yet at the same time nut oils and peachy richness well-up on an expansive palate, underlain by a hint of sweetness (at least partly due to its 4-5 grams residual sugar, which is typical for the vintage at this address, and a level that to be sure one would not expect to notice as sweetness in a German Riesling). Black tea smokiness and apple skin chew lend invigoration to a persistent finish. This may well take on more harmony with a few years in bottle, and ought to certainly show well for at least half a dozen. Given the penchant at this address for late harvest; considerable skin contact; and must aeration, I was not surprised to learn from Franz Hirtzberger Junior that only their Riesling Federspiel had been at all de-acidified. “If there’d been even a bit more hanging out there though,” he notes “then we wouldn’t have made it” – i.e. acheived ripe grapes. “We learned our lesson from 1996,” as Hirtzberger Senior saw it, namely not to harvest – despite ongoing crop loss and fear of ignoble rot (though in this case that didn’t materialize) – until the acids finally began to diminish and the skins to properly ripen. Importer: Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700
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