Ludwig Hiedler Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) Maximum

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Tasted from cask, the Hiedler 2010 Weissburgunder Maximum is Gruner Veltliner-like in its pungent scents of tobacco, citrus oils, and herbs. Its corpulence also puts me in mind of Gruner Veltliner, however, that grape is better able to balance the sort of alcohol – something over 14%, though it hadn’t been measured yet – that one finds in this Pinot Blanc. Happily, there is a refreshing and saliva-inducing marine salinity as well as iodine-tinged shrimp shell reduction that carry all the way through. The present dense exemplar of Hiedler’s top Pinot Blanc is chewier and less creamy than I anticipate for this cuvee, but it’s certainly formidable even if far from charming. (Hiedler’s Chardonnay from this vintage – although I sampled it – had not finished its alcoholic or malo-lactic fermentations as of early June.)Ludwig Hiedler – whose overall account of vintage 2010 can be found leading-off my introduction to this report – notes that “given such a small crop, ripeness wasn’t that bad once you got into October; and we started picking relatively early so as not to risk further crop loss and so as to avoid botrytis. All that was left to pick in November was the Heiligenstein and Maximum Riesling; Weissburgunder and Chardonnay; and the Kittmannsberg (Gruner Veltliner),” that last a good thing, since Hiedler has for years bottled its fruits under the name “November Harvest” (recently shortened to “November”)! Hiedler has taken an increasingly passive and leisurely approach to fermentation and elevage – as described in my introductions to his 2005 and 2006 collections in issues 160 and 177, where further details on the sites he farms will also be found. His wines tend to undergo malo-lactic transformation as a matter of course, not to mention enjoy long lees contact, and thus his approach to ameliorating 2010’s high acidity was already a foregone conclusion.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

The 2005 Riesling Maximum was still fermenting when I visited, to Hiedler’s astonishment as much as mine. That the Weissburgunder Maximum was still fermenting was not unexpected, but this was my first opportunity to taste the 2004 Weissburgunder Maximum. Smelling of herbs and nut oils, this comes onto the palate deep, rich, and smoky with toasted nuts, marine minerality, marrowy meatiness, and yet with bright juicy citricity as well. Impressive though this dense, rich wine is, it disappoints slightly, on account of some finishing heat.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

Hiedler has shown himself a master of Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc). His lighter version in 2004 (from the Spiegel) has considerable liveliness and potential. He prefers however to show me his top bottling only after it has had some months in bottle. Accordingly, I can report on this occasion that the 2003 Weissburgunder Maximum smells of marjoram, toasted hickory nuts, and apple cider. Full-bodied and formidably dense in the mouth, its glossy, glyceral-rich fruit also displays a pure, clear and uplifting character that was hard to capture amidst the heat and drought of 2003. Long and evocatively nutty and rich, it preserves a pool of juicy fresh fruit deep enough to bathe in. Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300