Filed under: Wachau

PRAGER! - Vievinum 2010

Weingut Rudi Pichler might be my favorite producer in the Wachau but Tony Bodentein (Prager) might be the Wachau’s best producer. Not to take anything away from the outstanding wines of Franz Hirtzberger or F.X. Pichler but Bodenstein’s wines, especially the Rieslings, are the most chiseled, precise, and terroir-driven in the entire Wachau. I ran out of things to write while tasting through his ‘09’s at the winery during Vievinum this May. Bodenstein’s holdings are mainly in the Riesling-intensive Durnstein area. They’re all the famous rieden: Achleiten, Hollerin, Klaus…ALL of the ‘09’s are exceptional:

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2009 Weingut Prager (Tony Bodenstein)

2009 Gruner Veltliner Federspiel Hinter der Burg

2009 Riesling Federspiel Steinriegel

2009 Prager Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Weitenberg

2009 Prager Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Liebenberg

2009 Prager Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Weissenkirchener Zwerithaler

2009 Prager Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Achleiten

2009 Prager Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Bodenstein Achleiten

2009 Prager Grüner Veltliner Stockkultur Achleiten

2009 Prager Riesling Smaragd Durnsteiner Kaiserberg

2009 Riesling Hollerin

2009 Prager Riesling Smaragd Steinriegl

2009 Prager Riesling Smaragd Achleiten

2009 Prager Riesling Smaragd Klaus

2009 Prager Riesling Smaragd Wachstum Bodenstein

jessebeckerMS

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Tasting at Weingut Rudi Pichler - Vievinum 2010

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Notes from tasting with my favorite producer in the Wachau: Rudi Pichler - Vievinum 2010.

2009 Rudi Pichler Gruner Veltliner Federspiel Terrassen

2009 Rudi Pichler Gruner Veltliner Smaragd Terrassen

2009 Rudi Pichler Gruner Veltliner Smaragd Wosendorfer Kollmutz

2009 Rudi Pichler Gruner Veltliner Smaragd Wosendorfer Hochrain

2009 Rudi Pichler Weissburgunder Smaragd Wosendorfer Kollmutz

2009 Rudi Pichler Riesling Smaragd Weissenkirchner Steinriegl

2009 Rudi Pichler Riesling Smaragd Wosendorfer Kirchweg

2009 Rudi Pichler Riesling Smaragd Weissenkirchner Achleithen

From Winebow's website (Pichler's American importer):
The image on the Pichler label also conveys this philosophy - expressing that the work in the vineyards is the most important part of the winemaking process. Without that commitment they are not Pichler and not Wachau.

jessebeckerMS
peripheriquewine
www.peripheriquewine.com

The Vineyards of the Wachau (by boat!) Part 2 - Vievinum 2010

Traveling west from Mautern, the Danube River takes a sharp turn at the village of Dürnstein. Rudy points out that the village has some gorgeous architecture and attracts a lot of tourists; it's also home to some of the Wachau's greatest rieden (vineyard sites): Mühlpoint, Steinertal, Loibenberg, Schütt, Hollerin, and Kellerberg.

Dürnstein gets its name from the castle on the hill above the village. The name translates as "dry stone" because it was situated on a rocky hill, high above the Danube.

Seth gives us the inside scoop on Rudi's recent Falstaff photo shoot for his "winemaker of the year" award.

jessebeckerMS
peripherique selections
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The Vineyards of the Wachau (by boat!) with Rudi Pichler

I'll be posting about this again when I get back to the states but had to post this photo and say that this was one of the coolest things I've done in my 14 years in the wine trade.

Photo

Rudi Pichler is Fallstaff's winemaker of the year. Elizabeth and I first visited Rudi in fall 2008 and his wines are even better than I remember. His 2009s are nothing short of breath taking, look for some offers from us very shortly. Tasting notes and additional posts coming soon including full video of boating down the Danube with Rudi pointing out the crus of the Wachau.

jessebeckerMS
peripherique selections
www.peripheriquewine.com