Hiedler

Don’t like squeaky-clean, reductive wines? Step right up! Amazing values for chewy, ample wines with old-fashioned meat on ‘em. They are among the highlights in every vintage. Satisfying, is how they taste! Look, I adore those filigree delineated wines, you know I do, but after five days of tasting them it starts to feel like work. They demand study. With the first hit-o-Hiedler the palate sits up with a jolt: “Is there a party? Sure feels like it!” Yet within their succulent density is all the complexity you could wish for. They’re the thinking-man’s wine porn!

•Vineyard area: 16 hectares
•Annual production: 8,300 cases
•Top sites: Thal, Losierberg, Spiegel, Heiligenstein, Gaisberg
•Soil types: Sandy loess and loam, gravel, eroded desert sandstone
•Grape varieties: 45% Grüner Veltliner, 15% Riesling, 10% Weissburgunder, 10% Chardonnay, 3% Frühroter Veltliner, 17% Zweigelt, Pinot Noir and Sangiovese