About This Vineyard
Terry Theise, the American wine prophet and importer of top Austrian wines, describes Johannes Hirsch, his ‘Vintner of the Year 2009’, as fearless. Fearless because Hirsch follows no conventions in his quest for quality, makes no compromises, and is prepared to swim against the current. Fearless because he does not intervene and allows nature to take its course in the vineyard. Fearless because he also allows the evolvement of what has grown in the vineyard to occur unadulterated in the wine cellar. The result is vibrant wine, with either firm and mineral or creamy structure depending upon the aspect and soil of its vineyard of origin.
These are organic wines that excel with clarity and remain appetizing glass for glass. Since the end of the 1990’s, Riesling and Grüner Veltliner of exquisite clarity and lightness have become his signature. The top wines carry the names of their vineyard of origin: Lamm, Gaisberg and Heiligenstein. ‘Trinkvergnügen’ has also enjoyed world-wide success. For a wine of such finesse and minerality to be categorized as an ‘entry level’ wine is quite an understatement. All of Johannes Hirsch’s vineyards are cultivated biodynamically, but this is a logical consequence for him and not something that he blows his horn about. The quality of his wine speaks for itself.
