2024 FX Pichler "Ried Steinertal" Wachau Gruner Veltliner

FX Pichler bottles Gruner Veltliner as well as Riesling from Steinertal, the cool, forest-shaded amphitheater between Loibenberg and Pfaffenberg that the estate calls its slowest-ripening Loiben site, on acidic, lime-free Gfohler gneiss at 230 to 300 meters. The estate built its name in the 1990s and 2000s as one of Austria's first truly collectible producers, with rich, powerful wines whose ripeness later turned sommeliers away. Under Lucas Pichler, the seventh generation, the wines have come back to a classic balance and again stand among the Wachau's finest. Since 2020 the family has worked outside Vinea Wachau, picking at the ripeness it chooses rather than to Smaragd rules. For 2024, Falstaff, Austria's leading wine guide, reports aging in steel and large wood and about 2 grams of residual sugar.