Franz Hirtzberger, Riesling Hochrain Smaragd, 2024 CHAMPCT0612 The result captures everything that

The result captures everything that makes Ribeira Sacra exciting: floral lift

and a hint of green herbs

showing firm but fine tannins and a long

Serve chilled as an aperitif

Franz Hirtzberger, Riesling Hochrain Smaragd, 2024 CHAMPCT0612 The result captures everything thatAnother of Hirtzberger's celebrated Spitz crus, this one with a slightly different signature Hochrain sits on weathered crystalline rock with a thin overlay of sandy loam, which gives the Smaragd a touch more flesh than its purely gneiss bound siblings. Still unmistakably Wachau: cool, mineral, vertical, built for the long haul. 2024 brought clarity and tension to the vineyard, and the result is a Riesling that opens with white peach and apricot