Name: Riesling Reserve Heiligenstein Erste Lage
Brand: Birgit Eichinger
Rating: 91.5 (2 reviews)

00

Vintage

2022

Drinking Window

2025 - 2045

Subscriber Access Only

or Sign Up

You'll Find The Article Name Here

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

Birgit Eichinger, née Allram, grew up at the local Allram wine estate and was primed from childhood to take over. However, when her older sister married a winemaker, plans changed. Eichinger received 3.5 hectares of vineyard and a piece of land, on which she built her own winery and her business over the years. She made her first wines in 1992, still pressing the fruit at her parental estate. Her own cellar with the press was first used in 1995. Being a new estate, she found it easier to establish herself internationally than at home. Today, she farms 16 hectares of vines and exports 55% of her production. In the meantime, her daughter, Gloria Eichinger, has joined the estate, working alongside Birgit since 2016 after completing wine studies in Krems and training in Marlborough, New Zealand and the Pfalz in Germany. Plantings are split into 70% Grüner Veltliner and 20% Riesling, with Roter Veltliner (despite its name, not a direct relative of Grüner Veltliner) and Chardonnay taking up 5% each. The wines are crushed and whole-bunch-pressed and, depending on the vintage, see varying amounts of skin contact in the press. While Grüner is matured in oak, Riesling is only ever made in stainless steel. About 2022, Eichinger notes that there was some rain during harvest, necessitating several harvest passes and resulting in “very approachable” wines. During my visit, I tasted the 2022 wines, with some 2021s for comparison.

00

Vintage

2016

Drinking Window

2018 - 2023

Subscriber Access Only

or Sign Up

You'll Find The Article Name Here

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

Tasting the bottlings from Birgit Eichinger’s three top sites left me with the realization that I ought to have found time to taste her entire 2016 collection. The ever-affable and seemingly unflappable Eichinger – increasingly assisted by daughter Gloria – is clearly on a qualitative roll. (A brief introduction to this estate precedes my notes on its 2013s.)

00

Vintage

2015

Drinking Window

2017 - 2022

Subscriber Access Only

or Sign Up

You'll Find The Article Name Here

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

Birgit Eichinger picked until the end of October in 2015, and late harvest seemed especially evident in several wines that had not yet been bottled when I last tasted with her in June 2016. A significant share of the Riesling fruit from her Heiligenstein and Gaisberg was, as usual, picked out several weeks ahead of that destined for site-specific bottling. (A brief introduction to this estate precedes my notes on its 2013s.)

00

Vintage

2014

Drinking Window

2016 - 2018

Subscriber Access Only

or Sign Up

You'll Find The Article Name Here

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

Among this talented grower’s 2014s, I had chance to taste only a trio of her top bottlings, from vineyards classified by the Traditionsweingüter Österreich as "Erste Lagen.” Those wines testify to this vintage’s challenges, and while I hope they will yet gain greater clarity, I am doubtful.

00

Vintage

2013

Drinking Window

2016 - 2023

Subscriber Access Only

or Sign Up

You'll Find The Article Name Here

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

Raised on the neighboring Allram estate, Birgit Eichinger founded her own winery in 1992. Since then, she has not only built the current cellar but also expanded her vineyard holdings to their current 16 hectares, including 6 in Gaisberg, the flagship of the estate. Although her focus is clearly on Grüner Veltliner, I find that her Rieslings often show better in a style that some have called baroque. She describes it instead as “power and elegance.”

00

Vintage

2012

Subscriber Access Only

or Sign Up

You'll Find The Article Name Here

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

Birgit Eichinger was raised in the neighboring Allram estate, which her sister now manages. Determined to pursue a winemaking career, she founded her own winery in 1992 and began building the current cellar three years later. Since then, she has expanded her vineyard holdings to their current 16 hectares, including six in Geisberg, the flagship of the estate. With a clear focus on grÃ¼ner veltliner, she understandably likes 2012 a bit more than 2011. While she seldom shares the limelight with her better-known colleagues, hers is a style that I enjoy. She describes it as "power and elegance." (www.weingut-eichinger.at) Also recommended: 2012 Gruner Veltliner Hasel (86), 2012 Gruner Veltliner Wechselberg (87), 2012 Riesling vom Berg (87).

00

Vintage

2011

Subscriber Access Only

or Sign Up

You'll Find The Article Name Here

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

Birgit Eichinger was raised in the neighboring Allram estate, which her sister now manages. Determined to pursue a winemaking career, she founded her own winery in 1992 and began building the current cellar three years later. Since then, she has expanded her vineyard holdings to their current 16 hectares, including six in Geisberg, the flagship of the estate. With a clear focus on grÃ¼ner veltliner, she understandably likes 2012 a bit more than 2011. While she seldom shares the limelight with her better-known colleagues, hers is a style that I enjoy. She describes it as "power and elegance." (www.weingut-eichinger.at) Also recommended: 2012 Gruner Veltliner Hasel (86), 2012 Gruner Veltliner Wechselberg (87), 2012 Riesling vom Berg (87).

2013 Riesling Heiligenstein

Content

Engage

Vinous

Social