Herbert Zillinger, "Hirschenreyn", Grüner Veltliner

A single-vineyard Grüner Veltliner from the north and east of Austria, this vineyards is the coolest and most northerly site that Herbert farms; the wine is dense, earthy, ripe and mineral with flavours of yellow fruit and integrated spice. The wine's texture is enhanced by its spending up to 12 months on its fine lees, directly before bottling, which is done without filtration or fining - incredible stuff that definitely needs a decanter!

The organic vineyards are planted in deep soils that are made up of clay and loess, that provide the vines the space and structure to burrow deep, increasing the mineral content of each vine and the resultant grapes.

92 Points Robert Parker

"Hirschenreyn is the "top selection" from Ebenthal's clay parts of the general loess terroir. Aged in large wooden barrels, matured for one year and bottled unfiltered, the vivid yellow colored wine opens with an intense yet fresh, coolish and pretty spicy bouquet with ripe phenolic notes intertwined with ripe and intense yellow fruit with buttercup and summer herbal notes. Intense, round and elegant on the palate, this is a medium to full-bodied, textural, piquant and persistently salty-mineral Veltliner with an intense, tensioned and finely tannic finish as well as lingering piquancy and juicy purity. It's not a charming wine but has good Grüner Veltliner character."

These are wonderful wines, made by one of the bright lights of modern Austrian wine making. In fact, Zillinger is a real trailblazer and belongs to a group who focus on Grüner Veltliner that is always made in Biodynamic vineyards. This allows them to have exceptionally high quality fruit in the winery that yields a dazzling array of wines.

Grüner Veltliner is a brilliant grape variety that seems to be the perfect food matching wine. Textural and semi-aromatic, it often has flavours that are on the culinary spectrum, such as tarragon, sage, oregano and, most typically, white pepper. There are very classic Grüners that almost appear as though they're made with a bouquet garni...