This is a gem I found in a back corner of a distributor I work with. Hirsch is known as one of the op producers of Austria and finding some 2014 Gruner is a great surprise.
Gruner Veltliner produces a fun wine similar to a Sauv Blanc but with more green pepper and lime notes. This is no exception. The added benefit of having some age to it allows it to be fully mature and have a little more depth. There is no more of this in distribution, and I only have a few bottles.
More on Hirsch:
The slopes of this wine-growing area vineyard extend eastwards from the Heiligenstein mountain; they have a clear southerly aspect and an average gradient of about 11%. The low-lying areas have highly calcareous chernozem soils with fragments of crystalline rocks, derived from the underlying loess which in turn overlies gravel beds. The upper parts of the slopes consist predominantly of gneiss with amphibolite lenses, and occasional remnants of loess. The overlying soil is calcareous brown earth with varying proportions of coarse material. Where the brown earth rests directly on gneiss it is generally non-calcareous but it may be calcareous where it has developed on amphibolite.