1998 Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Hochrain

With the more difficult '98 vintage, Rudi Pichler has demonstrated that the excellent '97s here were no fluke. In fact he seems quite convinced that his palpably extract-rich, botrytis-tinged '98s are superior. "We did two green harvests and then four or five genuine passes in most of the vineyards," he explains. "I have pickers who are genuinely motivated by being allowed to make decisions. Luckily too, I sprayed against botrytis at the end of August." "Were you looking at the long?range weather report?" I asked. "No, I just got scared. The weather seemed too beautiful to hold! Of course, if the autumn had turned out like in 1997, that spraying would have been unnecessary, maybe even detrimental. I think riesling with zero botrytis can't quite reach absolutely top class."