1998 Riesling Smaragd Hochrain

Hirtzberger '98 collection shows more weight, compactness and opacity than that of 1997, if slightly less elegance. "I must point out," says Irmgard Hirtzberger, "that we have never in general been opponents of botrytis, which adds complexity to the wines. In 1998, though, we had to be very careful to separate out the more heavily botrytized fruit because the sugars would have been too high for Smaragd By November, the harvest was really a battle to keep down the sugar level. We generally used two tubs to separate grapes at harvest, then did a further culling of dried berries from what had been picked." No doubt partly on account of the botrytis, 1998 fermentations were relatively sluggish. "But we didn't lose our nerve or take any drastic action," she added, and with a gentle warming of the cellar, the Smaragds finished fermenting in February.