2012 F.X. Pichler Grüner Veltliner Frauenweingarten Federspiel

F.X. Pichler

Austria / Wachau / F.X. Pichler

The name goes back to the nunnery in Dürnstein and is the large vineyard site in the commune of Dürnstein-Loiben. Its vineyards stretch in the Loiben basin, featuring warm soils composed of sands washed out of the Danube and partially interspersed with gravel. This is the ideal terroir for our Federspiel grüners, which are structured like lace, displaying clear and delicate fruit.

David Schildknecht

Wine Advocate

90 points

The Pichler 2012 Grüner Veltliner Federspiel Frauenweingarten projects a pretty, subtly flowery, buddleia-like nose along with suggestions of greenery and herbs that complement the fresh green bean and honeydew melon near its rind that piquantly and refreshingly inform a cool buoyant mid-palate. This finishes with infectious juiciness; a persistently perfumed aura; and an irresistible urge to take the next sip. I would plan on relishing it through 2016.

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About F.X. Pichler

"Everything here seems stylish, cultured and intelligently managed," wrote Sophie Otton of her recent visit to FX Pichler - which is, she notes, "widely regarded as Austria's finest estate". "Most of the wines here are Smaragd, which indicates the quality of their vineyard sites," Sophie observes. "Looking down the hillside to the Danube, it's obvious, the aspect is perfect. The wines are striking, like cut crystal, with strong clear lines; succulent, satiny and honeyed." The new winery, completed in 2010, is a stunning piece of design, with an imposing bank of stainless steel vats, side by side with the old oak foudres that are used for aging but not fermentation. The Pichlers use long maceration times – 20 hours for the Smaragds - and bottle direct from cask after eight months or so aging on lees. These exceptional wines have every inch of the finesse of Prager, but communicated through a slightly more open, loose- knit framework.

About

In 1971, Lucas Pichler’s father Franz-Xaver started running the estate, and would go on 41 years later to win a lifetime achievement award for his efforts from German magazine Der Feinschmecker. 1999 was the year that Lucas took over winemaking duties from his father, who continues to tend the vines. FX Pichler’s vineyards comprise some 18 hectares, of which around 47% are planted to Riesling (the rest is almost entirely Grüner Veltliner). A fraction less than half the area under vine sprawls across steeply rising terraces. This winemaking process presupposes multi-pass manual picking of premium-quality, highly ripe grapes followed by careful processing and traditional maturation in large oak casks. Lucas aims for naturalness and distinctiveness by forgoing chaptalisation and fining.