Rudi Pichler Gruner Veltliner Ried Hochrain Smaragd 2023 (750ML)

97 FS / 96 VM / 96 JS

Light chartreuse yellow with a silver sheen. Smoky, savoury, a dark mineral component, white peach, a multi-faceted bouquet. Complex, tightly meshed, lovely finesse and freshly structured, taut, very long-lasting, a saline touch, very good length, strong ageing potential.--Peter Moser, Falstaff

The 2023 Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Hochrain grows in the two dierent soils of this site, gneiss and loess. The gentleness on the nose has a icker of honey one moment and then a icker of green pear. The palate has a slender serenity that hints at savoriness rather than downright portraying it. The 2023 is elegant, with a beautiful and ne texture. It has green and yellow zest and pith on the nish. (Bone-dry) -- Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous Media

Rich yet restrained, with a deep underlying structure in which fine tannins play a leading role, this is a very serious and beautiful gruner veltliner. I love the Mirabelle plum, lentil and dried thyme character that fully unfurls in the long, Burgundian finish (think grand cru). Sustainable. Drinkable now, but best from 2026.—Stuart Pigott, James Suckling