2014 Weissburgunder Maximum

“It’s simply a fact,” asserted Ludwig Hiedler, “that in recent years we’ve experienced very different developmental curves of sugar and ripeness depending on vintage, and in view of the weather conditions that prevailed in 2015, sugar developed more rapidly than the aromas. In a case like that, you have to weigh your priorities. Is my focus going to be on light wine, or on wine with good aromas?” You will have guessed his answer. That having been noted, none of Hiedler’s 2015s are heavy, much less hot; this year’s collection merely omits any genuinely delicate or buoyant wines. And although Hiedler didn’t emphasize this point, given his penchant for permitting wines to undergo malolactic conversion, it is especially important not to pick grapes high in malic acid and risk overt lactic notes or lack of overall acidity. “We had luck with the hail, insofar as hail can ever be seen as luck,” related Hiedler, “because it came so early that in many cases both buds were too tiny” -- meaning too tight and close to the cane -- “to be affected.” And, like his neighbors in the nearby Kremstal and Wagram, Hiedler found that in some sites where buds were nipped, the products of secondary budding ultimately ripened. There were, however, unfortunate exceptions: Kittmannsberg, for instance, was almost a total loss. “Riesling, partly because of where it’s planted, was less affected by frost than were Grüner Veltliner and Weissburgunder. I also think,” Hiedler added, “that Riesling was more successful.” I agree with that as a general vintage assessment, but as my tasting notes below reveal, I’m not convinced in Hiedler’s case. It will be especially interesting to follow the development of this year’s quartet of single-vineyard Rieslings. Nowadays, wisely, few of Hiedler’s top wines are released to the US market sooner than six months after bottling. (For details concerning this estate’s vineyards, practices and recent history, readers are invited to consult the extended introduction to my report on its 2013s.)