2005 Ludwig Hiedler Grüner Veltliner Thal Novemberlese

Resting in tank, but essentially ready for bottling, was Hiedler’s 2005 Gruner Veltliner Thal Novemberlese, which underwent batonnage until May and had just been filtered prior to bottling when I tasted it. Lemon, orange, white peach, and brown spice aromas suggest Riesling. More Gruner Veltliner-typical sweet pea and root vegetables join in on the rich, satisfyingly leesy, subtly vanilla creme palate. A full-throated finish incorporates peach pit, caramelized root vegetables, spices, pepper, aromatic herbs, and mysterious mineral elements. This superbly rich Gruner Veltliner has acidity so low (a mere five grams per liter) as to seem downright deficient on paper, yet it displays lilt, minerality, brightness, and clarity. Indeed, the wine – which kept growing in the glass – is completely in a class by itself among Hiedler’s 2005s. If this is how the wine tastes immediately after filtration, imagine how good it may prove to be once bottled and rested! Also recommended: 2005 Riesling Loiser Berg ($24.00; 85), 2004 Riesling Steinhaus ($33.00; 85+), 2005 Weissburgunder Spiegel (not available; 86). Ludwig Hiedler – now that he has a spacious new cellar – is working to see how many chemical and mechanical accretions of modernity he can strip away. Spontaneous fermentation, no supplemental enzymes and no added sulfur to the must will, he has come to believe, make for wines much more expressive and distinctive, even if they are then slower to open in the spring and may mature a bit (“but only a bit”) sooner. This approach is a reaction to what Hiedler sees as standardization of wine as well as an attempt to bring cellar practices into harmony with his herbicide- and pesticide-free ideals in the vineyard. “And there’s a third reason,” he adds. “I’m looking for excitement. There’s always excitement in the vineyard, and I want some of that inside the cellar as well.” His new approach is having an immediate effect in lower alcohol, Hiedler surmises, on account of less efficient conversions by natural yeasts. Wines are finishing with as much as three-quarters of a degree less alcohol, he claims, than they would previously have done with the identical must weights. Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300