Like last year’s version, Hiedler’s 2005 Gruner Veltliner Maximum comes from Thal, Kittmannsberg (both loess), and Schenkenbichl (Gneiss). Where the Thal remained in tank, this wine now resides in large ovals, from which it won’t be bottled until December. Caramelized parsnip, overtly yeasty and ginger aromas give way to a more obviously soft in acid yet grainier and less flatteringly creamy palate than is possessed by the Thal Novemberlese. One can taste why Hiedler proposes to give this wine considerably more time in cask. Toasted grains, nut oils, and persistent yeastiness on the palate are more suggestive of white Burgundy than Gruner Veltliner. A long, low-toned finish features roasted root vegetable and toasted grain, with faint hints of smoke and pepper. Also recommended: 2005 Riesling Loiser Berg ($24.00; 85), 2004 Riesling Steinhaus ($33.00; 85+), 2005 Weissburgunder Spiegel (not available; 86).Ludwig Hiedler – now that he has a spacious new cellar – is working to see how many chemical and mechanical accretions of modernity he can strip away. Spontaneous fermentation, no supplemental enzymes and no added sulfur to the must will, he has come to believe, make for wines much more expressive and distinctive, even if they are then slower to open in the spring and may mature a bit (“but only a bit”) sooner. This approach is a reaction to what Hiedler sees as standardization of wine as well as an attempt to bring cellar practices into harmony with his herbicide- and pesticide-free ideals in the vineyard. “And there’s a third reason,” he adds. “I’m looking for excitement. There’s always excitement in the vineyard, and I want some of that inside the cellar as well.” His new approach is having an immediate effect in lower alcohol, Hiedler surmises, on account of less efficient conversions by natural yeasts. Wines are finishing with as much as three-quarters of a degree less alcohol, he claims, than they would previously have done with the identical must weights.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300