I’ve always found it odd that anyone would name a cuvee of Pinot Blanc of any kind ‘Maximum’, but this one lives up to its name. On night one it was thick, almost viscous in mouthfeel and bursting with ripe peach and pear fruit to the point of near oppressive weight. I put the leftovers in the fridge, forgetting to even cork up the bottle.
So here it is 72 hours later, and a wine has emerged from the bottle. It still carries plenty of fruit, but the heaviness is gone. There is now a second layer of flavor that includes pepper and cress, reminiscent of a fine Gruner Veltliner. The acidity is now in balance, and overall I wish I had opened the bottle three days early (or decanted for a long time). Delicious stuff that reminds me why I have thought of this wine as the best Pinot Blanc/Weissburgunder in the world.
Hi David,
Thanks for the note. As you may be aware, I am a ginormous fan of Weißbugunder and I like the Hiedler Maximum very much. It is certainly among the most impressive Pinot Blancs in the world, but given my leanings towards finesse, I have to go with Prieler Leithaberg as my favorite Weißburgunder from Austria. It is every bit as impressive, but trades viscosity for sinewy bite. The Seeberg from Prieler is also nice, but the Leithaberg is like taking a sip from a cup of marble.
Germany has more than its share of great Weißburgunder too, and some of the GG wines from Bergdolt are every bit the equal of Hiedler. They both go where Pinot Blanc almost dare not go and they get away with it. But for me the real appeal of the grape is that it can show incredible minerality, a crunchy, grapey, peary texture, subtle, restrained aromas and very pure, classy fruit without being intense. The best are like HD wine –a magnifying glass into terroir. When they get too vinous or are pushed too far, they start to lose their versatility for me. I find myself gravitating to the ‘2nd’ wines of a lot of producers as the GGs can be just too broad and too GREAT if that makes sense.
Austria and especially Germany have found this wonderful middle-ground with the grape that Alsace is missing imo. It has been a lot of fun exploring these wines.
Cheers,
Bill