The organic-certified grapes are grown on sandy, chalky and heavier soils. The 2020 blend comprises 35% Muscat Ottonel, 25% Gold Muskateller, 20% Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, 10% Sauvignon Blanc and 10% Grüner Veltliner.
For the 2020 vintage, the first three varieties were harvested separately and kept separate but vinified in the same way, which means they stayed in contact with their skins for more than a week before we fermented them to dryness in 500-litre oak barrels. Sauvignon Blanc and Grüner Veltliner, on the other hand, were immediately pressed and fermented together in a 1000-litre oval barrel and in 500-litre puncheons.
All five grape varieties are matured on full lees in used barriques for more than six months and only brought together shortly before filling. The Perfect Way has nothing added - not even sulphur - and is neither filtered nor sulphured. Alcohol 12%; RS 1.3g/L; total acidity 5.6g/L.
The win shows how filigree and fine wines fermented with the skins can be. Everything here is light as a feather, floating and pulsating. But a second, profound level is added here - one that tells of subtle aromas, of a finely chiselled minerality, inviting floral notes and precise stone fruit and citrus notes; of grippy and bundling tannin and a texture that is delicate but at the same time compact. The final stanza is lively, long and harmonious. - Gerhard Pittnauer
Pittnauer's wines are elegant, structured, complex and beautifully drinkable - qualities that were highlighted when Gerhard was named 2014 Winemaker of the Year by Falstaff magazine. This, the highest accolade in Austrian wine, shows just how far the Pittnauers have come. It also goes some way to showing what a fiercely gifted individual we have on our hands. But then everything -from the Pitti blend, through the vivid addition-free wines and right up to the devastatingly good single vineyards - will pretty much tell you the same thing.