1998 Riesling Smaragd Unendlich

With his 1998 collection, Pichler can only enhance an already legendary reputation and draw still more envious remarks about a style of wine extreme in its sheer power and intensity. There are no halbtrocken 1998 bottlings as there were in 1997, and the Smaragds ascend to dizzying-yet never stultifying-heights of alcohol. "Don't try this in your cellar" might be good if seldom-heeded advice to most of Austria vintners. But somehow, F.X. manages to bring off feats of astonishing balance that are bound to attract imitators. This applies not just to the dry wines, but to a remarkably elegant set of sweet '98s. The acid structure and high extract of the vintage are what lead Pichler to predict its slow, positive evolution.