Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This marries juicy yellow fruit with mineral freshness, opening with citrus pith, papayas, fennel and crushed stones. It’s medium-bodied, lively and refreshing. Delicious now.
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Vinous
The 2023 Grüner Veltliner Piri is a fantasy name, an old term for vineyard. It unites three single sites on mica schist, Kirchenberg, the younger vines of Pellingen and Pfeningberg, and is made in stainless steel. The nose is shy but fresh. The palate is slender, crunchy and wonderfully stony, with a vivid zestiness and a spicy greenish savor on the finish. (Bone-dry)
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Wine Spectator
Heather and chamomile infuse a core of pear and nectarine in this streamlined version. Tangy and fresh, with a cooling blast of mint and crunchy mineral notes. Drink now. 50 cases imported.
Fun to say and delightfully easy to drink, Grüner Veltliner calls Austria its homeland. While some easily quaffable Grüners come in a one-liter—a convenient size—many high caliber single vineyard bottlings can benefit from cellar aging. Somm Secret—About 75% of the world’s Grüner Veltliner comes from Austria but the variety is gaining ground in other countries, namely Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the United States.
The region of considerable geologic diversity and microclimates, Kremstal extends virtually without border east from Wachau along the Danube River. Its magnificent terraced and rocky vineyards in the west alongside Wachau include some of Austria’s most esteemed Riesling vineyards, the (Steiner) Hund and Pfaffenberg, as well as Kögl and Wachtberg nearer to the city of Krems. After Krems, the vineyards become excessively steep upstream around Senftenberg where Riesling and Grüner Veltliner thrive. Grüner Veltliner does best from here east where the soils become a mix of sand, gravel and loess.
Grüner Veltliner and Riesling together comprise two thirds of all of the Kremstal vineyards; the region itself represents about five percent of Austria’s total vineyard area.