2017 Pichler-Krutzler Gruner Veltliner Durnstein Wachau Austria 750 ml

Elegance and Pinpoint Precision: The New Age of Grüner Veltliner

This 2017 Pichler-Krutzler embodies that description and the dynastic shift that’s got Grüner Veltliner stealing shelf space from Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and other summer standards. In essence, it’s one of the most transparent, elegant, and impressive Grüner Veltliners we’ve tasted—bringing the magical combination of refreshing acidity, incredible fruit flavors, and intriguing minerality together—with a  $24 price that makes it a slam dunk.

Pichler is a familiar name for lovers of white wine: F.X. Pichler is perhaps Austria’s best-known vintner. In the Pichler-Krutzler wines, Franz consults with the next generation—his daughter, Elisabeth, and her husband, Erich—who are ushering this classic wine into the spotlight it so heartily deserves.

Together they’ve become one of the most exciting and visionary duos working in Austria today, eschewing rules and precedent to craft a new style of world-class Grüners that have the critics singing. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate calls this “another excellent series” from Erich and Elisabeth.

Thanks to an excellent 2017 vintage, this release represents a new benchmark. The 2017 season was something new in Austria, with James Suckling’s vintage report hailing Danube whites as “exciting” and “opulent.” Pichler-Krutzler rode the warm vintage without letting ripeness take over, leading to a class of outstanding Grüner Veltliners of finesse, structure, and concentrated fruit.

Describing Pichler-Kruzler’s approach, Wine Advocate wrote: “They carefully filter and critically consider any received opinions, even (or, dare I suggest, especially) those of Elisabeth’s famous father, F.X.” If Franz Pichler was an exponent of the kind of satiny, ripe richness which helped put Austria back on the world map, Pichler-Krutzler is after clean transparency, pinpoint precision, and striking minerality that is nonetheless powerfully concentrated.

Austria’s acclaimed Wachau district is famous for sitting at the intersection of four climatic zones, experiencing cold winds from the north and warm air masses from the east, while bodies of water bodies the Danube and the Atlantic moderate temperatures in both winter and summer. Erich and Elisabeth cultivate 32 hectares in some of the most famous and sought-after vineyards of the Wachau, a lush region of undulating hills peppered by stands of trees so picturesque and iconic they’ve received UNESCO recognition. Relying on organic viticulture, they’ve crafted this Dürnstein cuvée from sun-kissed vines grown along the Danube River where mornings are warm, with roots spidering into well-draining sandy sediment and gravel.

The liquid result is as gorgeous as the setting, and priced to enjoy for years to come.