2012 Gruner Veltliner Durnsteiner Liebenberg Smaragd

A sweetly ripe tropical fruitiness of pineapple and pink grapefruit marks the F. X. Pichler 2012 Gruner Veltliner Smaragd Liebenberg, to which a positively sizzling impingement of citrus zest, pineapple core and white pepper lends counterpoint. There is a faintly soapy texture, and the aforementioned sizzle is reinforced in the finish by slightly noticeable (even though analytically only 13.5%) alcohol. Some terroirists (like myself) might anticipate a cooling and dynamic influence from the active lime in this vineyard’s soil, but it isn’t forthcoming. My explanation is that the tendency toward slight shriveling of berries in this site – also, of course, arguably a terroir factor – counteracts any such chalk influence, as well as resulting in a diminished sense of juiciness. All in all, this rich, rather static wine is likely to appeal most before 2017. “In recent years,” notes Lucas Pichler, “we’ve been harvesting a little earlier in order to depress the alcohol levels a bit,” which in 2012 meant among other things beginning with Gruner Veltliner Federspiel already in the third week of September. After what I had tasted thus far of the vintage, I was amazed to find the Rieslings here in aggregate even finer than the Gruner Veltliners, a pattern that was to be dramatically accentuated at nearby Alzinger. (I did not get chance on my most recent visit to catch-up with Pichlers’ Sauvignon Blanc from this vintage.) Importer: Weygandt-Metzler Importing, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0700