Leaving behind nostalgia for empire, one internationally oriented Austrian winery goes modern, in its building and its outlook. These sophisticated wines have arrived in the Hamptons.
Austria: Hillinger
The most surprising thing about the new Leo Hillinger Winery is its Austrian nationality. Most new architecture in the Austrian countryside reflects a sort of nostalgia for empire and the reign of the Hapsburgs. Conservatism rules. Hillinger, on the other hand, slices through the schmaltz and the schlag with cutting edge design. The stunning concrete and glass building is set into a hill overlooking Lake Neusiedl in Burgenland, a traditional winemaking area in the southeast of Austria near the border with Hungary. Its very presence seems to challenge the complacency of the accepted baroque forms you see throughout the country.
On a visit to Austria a few months ago I found the new building a fitting expression of the Hillinger style of winemaking. Large areas of glass used for selected internal as well as external walls bespeak transparency and openness. Wine and the process of winemaking are accessible and welcoming. The Hillinger wines themselves are transparent in the best sense. They are direct expressions of the soil and the climate and the location—natural, forthright and honest. Although certain of the wines are more successful than others not a single sample seemed to me to be made with a heavy hand or to taste manipulated.
Mr. Hillinger, at 38 years old, is representative of an exciting younger generation of Austrian winemakers who are modern in their outlook, their style and their marketing. In reaching out to contemporaries in Europe and America they are radically remaking the image of Austrian wines and capturing the attention of wine professionals and consumers. Everything from his labels to his website to the members of his staff conveys an international style, a sophistication unexpected in his rural region, and most of all a dedication to quality.
While he respects tradition, Mr. Hillinger’s wines seem designed to appeal to cosmopolitan tastes. Chardonnay and sauvignon blanc are not grapes we associate with Austria but because of the microclimate they do well at the Hillinger estate. The winery produces interesting interpretations of each. The chardonnay I tried was a lovely flaxen color verging toward gold, fragrant with honey and almonds, and nectarous and succulent in taste. The sauvignon blanc was more vigorous but still refined. The taste was vibrant with cut grass overtones and a brisk finish, pleasant and easy to drink. Welschriesling, a more typical regional grape, results in a simple, captivating wine, with a nose of white flowers, full of verdant fruit, leaving a dry and refreshing feel.
Any one of these whites would be suitable for summer drinking here on the East End. All match well with many of the foods we favor—fish and shellfish, fresh produce, and passed hors d’oeuvres.
While the other major viticulture areas of Austria are best suited for whites, red grapes do well in the warmth and somewhat Medoc-like landscape of Burgenland. Hillinger makes a particularly engaging wine from a traditional native grape St. Laurent. A full-bodied, dark red wine with pronounced fruit and mild tannins, it remains blithe and mellow enough on the tongue for casual summer drinking.
Blaufrankisch, another indigenous grape, is to my mind one of the most interesting in Austria. Hillinger produces a wine with a caressing, serene, concentrated taste and a velvety feel. But I don’t want to make it sound too serious or solemn. Though the wine is capable at times of being dark, powerful and tannic the vintage I tasted still expressed youth and vitality. I also like zweigelt, a grape with characteristics of both merlot and pinot noir. Hillinger’s zweigelt has a bouquet of red fruits, with cherry and strawberry dominating. The taste is rich, amicable and smooth with restrained fruit and an undertone of spice. It has a strong presence in the glass and the balance of tastes is satisfying.
Hill 1, the premium red produced at the Hillinger estate, is a blend of blaufrankisch, zweigelt and cabernet sauvignon, and compares in taste and depth to some noted California blends. Mr. Hillinger, along with Anton Bauer and Martin Mittlebach, two other young winemakers from Austria, is currently visiting the Hamptons. A number of local restaurants and wine stores carry their wines.
During this visit, the Maidstone Arms in East Hampton and Starr Boggs in Westhampton are hosting wine dinners, and tastings are scheduled at McNamara’s Wines in Bridgehampton and at Amagansett Wine & Spirits. Most of the Austrian wines are modestly priced so it is a fine opportunity for us to get to know this new generation of Austrian winemakers and to enjoy the contemporary, international style of their wines.
