I offered these same wines a couple of years aho, and realized that Rich and I have opposite preferences on these wines. I prefer the rich, exotic profile of the Hiedler while Rich prefers the precise, clean Brundlmayer. You guys wanna weigh in? If memory serves, I "won" last time, but it was close...

The short version of below? While both of these wines are from the Kamptal region of Austria, they couldn't be more distinct and different from each other. Brundlmayer is laser-focused and precise, clear, crisp and crystaline. Hiedler is just hedonistic and sensuous, rich and full and quite exotic. I prefer the Brundlmayer as an aperitif, or with salads, light fish dishes or a simple chicken dish. Hiedler... I want to drink out of a Solo cup... and I have! But don't let the bombastic nature fool you, it is absolutely divine with roast pork and apples... 

Brundlmayer Terrassen Gruner Veltliner 2019

Sale $24.99 / Mix Six and Pay $21.99

93 pts James Suckling

Brundlmayer’s Terrassen comes from Kamptal, a region that boasts a variety of terroir, ranging from loess to gravel to crystalline sites and red feldspathic sandstones and conglomerates, as on the highly regarded Heiligenstein. The geological development of the rock is rather special, its between 320 and 250 million year old! Kamptal has the effects of the hot, Pannonian plain heat from the east and the cooler Waldviertel region towards the north west. A great region for Gruner, and Brundlmayer is an excellent producer too! Willi Brundlmayer’s wines are some of the most prized in all of Austria. Wine & Spirits magazine has called Willi Brundlmayer one of the “best Austrian winemaker in 25 years.” With a collection of Grand Cru sites in the very best pockets of the Kamptal, impeccable viticulture, and a combination of both modern and non-interventionist winemaking, Brundlmayer coaxes every nuance of expression from his grapes and the Kamptal terroir. His Gruners are something of a holy grail for white wine lovers.

This Grüner Veltliner is a blend of wines sourced from different terraced vineyards. The elevated terraces consist of stonier soils that bring fruit driven wines with mineral nuances and good aging potential. The vines from lower sited terraces grow partly on layered fertile loess and bring earlier maturing wines that are very expressive in their youth. Flowery and delicate on the nose, with fresh lime zest and green apple climbing from the glass. There’s a rich creaminess on the palate and lovely texture.  Green fruits, then spice, some pineapple, the flavours just continue to build with every sip. The structure and balance here also is just incredible. There’s more juicy fruit leading into a long spicy finish that’s bright with minerals and mouthwatering acidity. A gorgeous glass of wine now, and you could easily age this wine for another 5-6 years or more. Very cool stuff indeed.  “A tight, focused white with dried apple, honey and flint. Some stone, too. Full-bodied, creamy and minerally with dried mango and pear. So subtle and complex. From organically grown grapes.” JS

Hiedler Gruner Veltliner Thal 2019

Sale $24.99 / Mix Six and Pay $21.99

93 pts James Suckling

If you have been groovin’ to our Gruners over the past few years, this should not come as a huge surprise. The wines from Weingut Hiedler have been some of my favorite. The “house style” is typically rich, luscious and voluptuous. Combined with bright acidity and crystal-clear flavors, I find them eminently delicious to drink. Maybe a little too much so, as the critics seem to overlook the wines precisely because they aren’t deemed “serious” enough. As importer Terry Theise comments, “I like that the wines speak a radically different dialect than the colleagues’ wines do. I love how almost “opulent” these are, and most of all I adore how clear and shapely they are, even with their effusive richness and oleaginous textures. We can easily surmise how the other growers’ wines work—we know that language—but it’s much harder to fathom how wines as plush as these can also be so refreshing and so palpably structured. The wines are riddled and jammed with soul and personality, there are no other wines like them, and you know what? We underrate them, you, me, all of us.”

Perhaps for not much longer, considering the effusive praise for this entry-level wine. The next generation, Lugwig Hiedler Jr., is getting more involved and he has a preference for more just a little more racy wines. Not a wholesale change in style, but perhaps just a little fine-tuning. The result is still decidedly “Hiedler”… yet with a bit more refinement. Still packed with apricot and exotic citrus fruits, with just a bit more savory white pepper spice on the finish, this beauty is a dream for pairing with food. The end result is nothing short of spectacular!

“A layered white with dried-apple, pear and flint character. Intense and focused. Solid and structured." JS

Or reply. The wines are in stock now in Chapel Hill. Tuesday, as ordered, in Hillsborough.