2016 Riesling Kellerberg Wachau Pichler-Krutzler

The 2016 Dürnsteiner Riesling Ried Kellerberg has a deep, concentrated and aromatic bouquet of perfectly ripe and stewed stone fruits (peaches, apricots), green paprika, apples, pears and herbs along with dusty, flinty notes of crushed stones. Full-bodied, round and elegant, this is a perfectly balanced and gorgeously aromatic Kellerberg with lush fruit, delicate acidity, very fine tannins and stimulating salinity on the pure and refined finish. Its silky texture, charming roundness and driving mineral vitality combine the best of two worlds: loess and Pannonian climate with gneiss and continental climate. The 2016 possesses great finesse and aging potential. Tasted a few days after the bottling in August 2017. Compared to the Loibenberg, the Kellerberg is still more angular and tensioned, and it needs some years to find its finesse. Both are terrific Rieslings. 2022 - 2040.

There is a generosity of ripe peach and pear along with a loose but luscious corresponding fruitiness on the glossy palate, lending this wine a forward appeal that I would not usually associate with a youthful Kellerberg Riesling. That having been noted, it also features a stimulating burst of back-end lemony brightness as well as an admirably diverse range of smoky, peppery and stony shadings from the nose all the way through a lusciously lingering, dynamic finish in which the fruit and minerals engage in near-kaleidoscopic interaction. For all of my just now mustered superlatives, Elisabeth Pichler expressed the opinion that the wine is site-typically closed in the present showing compared to its potential. Go figure. 2018 - 2028.

This is intense, with sharp acidity cutting through the rich flavors of peach and pink grapefruit, accented by elderflower and vanilla bean notes. Nicely crafted, showing good balance and complexity. Drink now through 2024. 15 cases imported.