The Weinhofmeisterei Mathias Hirtzberger Story
Mathias Hirtzberger had a brief career in banking before finding himself drawn back home to the Wachau. His brother Franz is now well established at the famous Franz Hirtzberger estate in Spitz, and wine production seemed more attractive than the world of corporate finance. By happy chance, some family vineyards farmed by another (retiring) Hirtzberger became available at Wösendorf in 2014, and Mathias jumped at the chance to create his own domaine. More vines from another property in the village also became available to rent at the same time, so he now has 9 hectare estate. He has named the estate Weinhofmeisterei Hirtzberger, and taken some heraldic themes for his labels and wine names, to reflect some of the traditions of the area. The labels feature the coat of arms of St Florian. The monastery of St Florian, located in Upper Austria, had a wine production site in the village from the 13th Century until mid 20th C. A new smart red brick winery was completed just in time for the 2017 harvest.
Weinhofmeisterei Mathias Hirtzberger Wines
Wösendorf is barely a stones’ throw downstream from Spitz, but already climate is a touch warmer. Harvesting can be late, though not quite as extreme as in Spitz. Grüner and Riesling are planted in different sites (Spitaler, Kollmitz, Bach, Kollmutz) and Steinfeder, Federspiel and Smaragd wines are produced. Attention is as high as at the longer established family winery in Spitz, and wines are aged in a variation of stainless steel, oak and acacia. Generally there is less use made of botrytis affected berries here, and the wines have a clear, lifted, fruity nose and polished, ultra-pure flavours. The Smaragd wines from both varieties have the creamy texture of the best wines of the region, with lively, sometimes salty, mineral notes.
White
| Description | Year |
|---|---|
| Greif, Grüner Veltliner Smaragd | 2016 |
| Spitaler, Grüner Veltliner Smaragd | 2018 |
| Spitaler, Grüner Veltliner Smaragd | 2016 |
| Kollmütz, Grüner Veltliner Smaragd | 2016 |
| Zier, Riesling Federspiel | 2018 |
| Zier, Riesling Federspiel | 2017 |
| Bach, Riesling Smaragd | 2018 |