2014 Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Hochrain

Rudi Pichler reports that even after 2014, 1996 retains its place as his most difficult vintage. He managed a normal 2014 lineup, with the exception of bottling no Roter Veltliner, and bottling a “Terrassen” Grüner Veltliner Federspiel where normally he would bottle that cuvée as Smaragd. True to his usual form, Pichler insisted on waiting, heedless of eventual crop loss, until he felt that his fruit—from sites that encompass a wide range of elevations—was fully ripe. The result, he relates, is that in volume terms “we harvested 25% in October, 50% in November, and 25% not until December.” This year, late picking at full ripeness by no means precluded animating acidity, though it did entail significant crop loss. “I’m not thinking about the money; that doesn’t matter. These are wines about which we’ll be talking for a long time,” Pichler says confidently of the many magnums, double magnums and imperials of single-site Grüner Veltliner he has bottled. His last word on the arduous labors attending this vintage: “It was still fun, and that’s the real reward.” (For further Rudi Pichler commentary on 2014 and his relatively unvarying approach to vinification and élevage, consult my introduction to this entire report.)