Weingut F. X. Pichler

Lucas Pichler has always preferred cooler vintages. While many of his colleagues adored the 2012s, he thought the vintage was perhaps “a touch too warm,” but added that “at least there was no botrytis.” There was none in 2013 either, which he describes as “a nearly perfect vintage for me.” While he prefers the lower alcohols that came with the year, his only worry was that the Rieslings were “a touch tight” in their youth and that many of them will be drunk far too young. Nonetheless, he clearly states that “2013 was better for us than 2012. The wines have that inner balance that will allow them to mature gracefully.”

While his father Franz Xaver excelled with a richer, more opulent style and often allowed a touch of botrytis to infuse his Grüner Veltliners, Lucas’s direction is clearly towards lighter, clearer and purer expressions of each vineyard site. Yes, he still makes wines like the Grüner Veltliner M, which he views as a safety valve for overripe grapes. Like the Riesling Unendlich, “it is to be viewed as the ultimate expression of the variety, not the site. The way we live and eat has changed,” he maintains. “Our wines must evolve as well.”

I have now tasted most of the wines included in this article two or three times and still remain rather puzzled. There is no question that 2013 marks a new style for the estate, but there is also something herbal, slightly smoky and embryonic in each that make most of them very difficult to assess. It will be fascinating to follow how they mature, and I may have erred on the downside in my judgments here, but I still have question marks in my mind.

From Austria 2013 (Sep 2015) by Joel B. Payne

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2013 Riesling Federspiel Burgstall

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2013 Riesling Smaragd Oberhauser

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2013 Riesling Smaragd Steinertal

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2013 Riesling Smaragd Loibenberg

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2013 Riesling Smaragd Kellerberg

Release Price: $85

Color: White

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2013 Riesling Reserve M

Release Price: $90

Color: White

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2013 Grüner Veltliner Federspiel Klostersatz

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2013 Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Liebenberg

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2013 Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Steinertal

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2013 Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Loibenberg

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2013 Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Kellerberg

Release Price: $90

Color: White

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2013 Grüner Veltliner Smaragd M

Release Price: $90

Color: White

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