2023 | Weingut Franz Hirtzberger Chardonnay Smaragd | Wachau | Austria

From one of the two pillars of the Wachau — a rare dry Chardonnay from Austria's greatest white-wine valley.

Weingut Franz Hirtzberger, based in Spitz, is with F.X. Pichler one of the two towering estates of the Wachau. Best known for profound Riesling and Grüner Veltliner, Hirtzberger also crafts a small amount of dry Chardonnay in the region's top "Smaragd" ripeness category — concentrated, mineral, and built on the Wachau's weathered-rock terraces.

A dry Chardonnay from a Wachau legend is a connoisseur's rarity. Concentrated, mineral, Smaragd-ripe → the estate's Rieslings are worshiped worldwide → at $90.99 you're drinking a Wachau icon's take on Chardonnay.

• 100% Chardonnay
• Wachau, Austria — Smaragd (top dry ripeness)
• Weingut Franz Hirtzberger — a pillar of the Wachau
• Weathered crystalline-rock terraces around Spitz

Ripe orchard fruit and citrus over a stony, saline core with vivid acidity and real concentration. Translation: a mineral, powerful dry Chardonnay — apple and pear cut with Wachau stone and length, far from any buttery cliché.

A rare dry Chardonnay from one of Austria's greatest estates. Exactly the white to pour for someone who thinks they know Chardonnay.