Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lemon rind, fennel, peach pits and chopped herbs on the nose, followed by a bright, cool and medium-bodied palate. Refreshing mineral and herb undertones. Vegan.
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Vinous
The 2024 Grüner Veltliner Piri combines fruit from three mica schist sites—Kirchenberg, Pellingen and Pfeningberg—and was made in stainless steel. Mossy freshness, citric verve and crushed ferns show a peppery overtone. The palate is vividly sunny, direct and clear, with uncommon brilliance, almost like mica schist reflecting bright sunlight. Fresh, yet marked by ripeness, roundness and notable juiciness.
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.