2022 Kellerberg Riesling from F.X. Pichler
"...If energy had a smell, this would be it....like a thoroughbred, raring to go...96 points." Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous, Feb '24
"...an extraordinary wine...96 points." Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate, May '24
"...gigantic concentration, but also gigantic elegance and finesse....the most extraordinary thing about the wine is the mind-blowing stony intensity at the extremely focused and salty finish....99 points." Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com, Oct '23
Finding new fine wines to offer to you is a privilege of this business and yesterday we tasted an extraordinary Austrian Riesling for the first time, the 2022 Kellerberg Riesling 'Durnsteiner Ried' from F.X. Pichler, in Austria's Wachau. Scoring 99 points from James Suckling's Riesling expert Stuart Pigott, the quality and provenance leapt out of the glass at us and we think you will want to experience it for yourself.
We tasted numerous very high-quality Rieslings in Germany in June, but it's quite a few years since we last visited the Wachau. Even so, the concentration and almost exotic fruit character of the Kellerberg instantly transported us to the Wachau's steep vineyards on the banks of the Danube, a little over an hour west of Vienna.
This impressive landscape has been recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The terraced slopes are supported by dry-stone walls, built by the monks who began growing vines here in the 10th century. The Kellerberg vineyard is on gneiss soils, a coarse-grained form of granite, forcing the vines to push their roots down many metres to obtain moisture.
Lucas Franz and Johanna Elizabeth Pichler have established their family estate as one of the top names in the region, and for Riesling from anywhere in the world. Do read more about them, below.
The grapes for the 2022 Kellerberg Riesling were hand-harvested over multiple dates at the end of October and had 9 to 12 hours of skin contact, before fermentation in a mix of stainless steel tanks and wooden casks. The wine then spent 8 months on fine lees before bottling at 13% alcohol.
The 2022 is delicious now but will age for many decades. Tasting it again this morning, the energy, minerality and concentration are just as impressive and it cries out to be paired with shellfish like lobster or perhaps Singaporean dishes.
We recommend adding some to your cellar. Please simply email us if you would like to order.
Offered in bond, available for delivery in September 2024.
Producer Profile
F.X. Pichler, Wachau
ABOUT F.X. PICHLER
The Pichler family began making wine in the Wachau in the 19th century and acquired their vineyards in Durnstein in 1898. The business is named after Franz Xaver (F.X.) Pichler, the father of the current winemaker. F.X. was convinced of the potential of the area for high-quality wine set about acquiring many of the winery's best vineyard sites. Lucas Franz Pichler has been in charge of winemaking since the 1999 vintage. In the early 2000s he was joined by his wife Johanna Elizabeth, who was born in the Rheinhessen and studied winemaking in Germany.
Lucas Franz and his family have built the vineyards up to 20 hectares, 50% of which are on the hillsides and vertiginous terraced slopes, requiring many thousands of hours of laborious (and potentially dangerous) work by hand to produce the highest quality fruit. The wines are made with minimal intervention.
Kellerberg is next to the village of Durnstein and 'Ried' is a term for a named vineyard, similar to 'lieu-dit'. Of all Pichler's Rieden, Kellerberg is the most prized, with a South-East exposure and exceptionally steep inclination. This has led to erosion, exposing a complex mixture of gneiss and alluvial terroirs, giving this Riesling its awesome combination of minerality and rich concentration.
| WHITE | 2022 | 5 cases | FX Pichler - Durnsteiner Ried Kellerberg Riesling | 75cl | £395 per case of 6 | FX Pichler Durnsteiner Ried Kellerberg Riesling 2022 / 5 cases / 75cl £395 per case of 6 |
IB | ||||
Tasting Notes"The 2022 Riesling Kellerberg smells of stone and green Seville orange—intense, pervasive, driven and bold. If energy had a smell, this would be it. Citrus, now imbued with subtle and juicy pink-cheeked white peach, drives with conviction and brio onto the linear, concentrated zesty palate. Purity and crystalline clarity present a picture of hard stone. This is like a thoroughbred, raring to go, showing beautiful length, absolute energy, and clear precision—whoa—and fragrant to the end. 96 points." Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous, Feb '24------"The 2022 Durnsteiner Ried Kellerberg Riesling is enormously deep, dense and complex on the nose that intermingles saline notes of crushed stones with ripe and concentrated Riesling aromas. Full-bodied, dense and rich on the palate yet also tensioned and mouthwateringly saline on the finish, this is a powerful and seriously structured Kellerberg Riesling with savory acidity and a long, saline finish. Again, this is an extraordinary wine that will benefit from years in the bottle and gain finesse. 96 points." Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate, May '24------"This dry riesling has gigantic concentration, but also gigantic elegance and finesse. Still a little shy on the nose, but this has been made to age for decades. Delicate notes of white peach, pink grapefruit and mountain herbs in the nose, then on the palate also hints of liquorice and white chocolate. However, the most extraordinary thing about the wine is the mind-blowing stony intensity at the extremely focused and salty finish. Doesn’t want to stop. Enormous ageing potential. 99 points." Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com, Oct '23 |
|||||||||||
