2020 Weingut Prager Gruner Veltliner Federspiel Ried Hinter Der Burg Wachau Austria 750 ml

Austria makes some of the world’s greatest white wines, led by Grüner Veltliner. It’s a proudly native variety that’s woven its way into the hearts of sommeliers for its combination of salty minerality and beautiful fruit.

Prager is one of Austria’s most esteemed producers, and its wines grace the lists at MICHELIN-starred icons The French Laundry, Saison, and The Modern. Our Master Sommelier, Sur Lucero, has sworn by them for years, ranking Prager’s wines among his most versatile go-to whites because of their uncanny ability to balance power, tension, and zesty vibrancy with ethereal, herbal- and fruit-inflected aromatics.

The 2020 Gruner comes from a single vineyard whose terroir soars through in the wine’s dense, rocky minerality. It’s a perfect example of a Federspiel, the designation for a middleweight wine of zest and nuance, in contrast to the region’s sometimes bombastically rich, fuller-bodied Smaragd bottles.

It was captivating, but Sur wasn’t surprised. He reminded us how the best of Austria can mirror the intensity and concentration of the greatest German producers while also harkening to the mineral tension of Burgundy stalwarts like Montrachet.

Prager’s motto, “Vom Stein zum Wein” or “from rock to wine,” is a literal statement of intent—one translated brilliantly in this Hinter Der Burg (which means “behind the old castle”) cuvée. Winemaker Toni Bodenstein is widely considered one of the foremost authorities on the area’s geology and microclimates. 

Speaking with Toni, you get the sense that he’s a bit obsessed with his vineyard’s biodiversity and sedimentary soils composed of gneiss, granite, and schist from the Danube River. When you taste his wines, you’ll understand how his singular obsession is the driving force behind their greatness.