Description
F.X. Pichler, “Ried Burgstall” Riesling Federspiel
Austria’s Wachau region was one of the places that cinched my decision to make wine my career. It is that powerful. With its awe-inspiring natural beauty and painstaking viticulture, it really is a dream landscape for sommeliers—especially if Riesling is one of your preferred varieties. For dry styles in particular, there’s no place I’d rather turn, especially when a benchmark producer such as F.X. Pichler releases a single-vineyard stunner at such an accessible price.
Today’s Federspiel-designated bottling, from the granitic soils of the “Burgstall” vineyard, is such an impressive fusion of producer, place, and price it almost seems too good to be true—but here it is in all its world-class, mineral-etched glory, ready to be scooped up by our savvy subscribers. It’s a one-stop master class on the wonders of Wachau Riesling, which are, of course, plentiful. I can’t recommend it highly enough!
Fifth-generation grower Franz Xavier “F.X.” Pichler might have been the most ambitious of the handful of founding members of the regional producers’ association called Vinea Wachau. Created in 1983, it included not just Pichler but renowned producers Franz Hirtzberger, Josef Jamek, Franz Prager, and Emmerich Knoll. They established sustainable guidelines for viticulture and winemaking while creating the well-known designations “Steinfeder,” “Federspiel,” and “Smaragd” to classify wines. Together they are largely responsible for the exponential rise in quality Grüner Veltliner and Riesling in Austria over the last four decades. F.X.’s wines garnered the most attention at first, winning big scores from international critics, but by the mid-1990s, this core group of talented vintners were the darlings of sommeliers in Paris, London and New York. The rest is history and the fantasy-like landscape of the Wachau was firmly etched into the world’s wine psyche.
The Wachau is a UNESCO World Heritage Site: a 23-mile long, Danube River landscape elegantly winding through many small villages between Melk and Krems. Beautifully juxtaposed natural elements of forests, rugged rock formations, lush, green flatlands, and dramatically steep, terraced vineyards all blend into a dreamy, picturesque setting. From village to village, impeccably kept manors, churches, and monasteries dot the banks of the Danube, so quaintly and perfectly arranged it begs the question: Is all this real?
The Pichlers built a new winery in Dürnstein in 2009 that is a modern architectural showpiece. F.X.’s son, Lucas, has been in full charge of the winemaking for nearly two decades, while F.X. keeps his presence felt mostly in his meticulous guidance of their vineyards. Their holdings amount to 18 hectares, 53% Grüner Veltliner and 47% Riesling with the remaining 1% Sauvignon Blanc. Half of their holdings are planted on the steep terraces of Kellerberg and Loibenberg. The remainder reside mostly in the Loibner basin between Dürnstein and Rothenhof at the eastern end of the Wachau. All vineyard sites are planted in the loess (wind-blown silt) and gneiss (granite-like) soils typical of the lower slopes and terraces of the Wachau. All grapes are hand-harvested, naturally fermented in stainless steel tanks then aged in very large, old Austrian oak casks. Bottling occurs after light filtration without fining.
Today’s wine comes from “Ried Burgstall” (“Ried” referring to a “single-site” designated wine). This vineyard was reclaimed by the Pichlers in 2013 after generations in other hands. “Burgstall” stretches on a high plateau adjacent to the town of Unterloiben, featuring pure gneiss and granite soils with blown-in sands on top. It is the oldest vineyard in Loiben. The name translates to “Burg” (castle) and “Stahl” (stallion) as there was a small fortification built here in the Middle Ages (around 1238) to defend the farm animals against raiders. This sun-pampered and breezy vineyard is most suitable for lacy, fruit-driven Rieslings in the Federspiel range, which means the wine needs to fall between 11.5% and 12.5% alcohol by volume.
This 2018 Riesling Federspiel shows a light yellow-green hue with silver reflections in the glass. It is squeaky clean, with assertive aromas of ripe white peach, apricot, orange zest, white flowers, and a hint of pink grapefruit on a smoky, mineral background. It is salty and
fresh on a medium-bodied, slightly glossy palate that’s boasting ripe white nectarine, lime peel, crushed stone, tart pear, apple skin, and white pepper. Perfectly crunchy acidity delivers a precisely layered and dry Riesling with classic Wachau grip and tension yet dripping with pleasantly ripe fruit. With Lucas Pichler at the helm, the estate’s wines have never been more linear and focused, with lift and freshness, contrasted by the more bombastic, crowd-pleasing style of decades past. The single-site wines now consistently reflect clearly drawn character, typicity, and vintage-specific terroir. It’s impossible to avoid enjoying this immediately, so serve it at around 50-55 degrees in your all-purpose stems. It can be cellared for the next 3-5 years so consider that for your second or third bottle. Light fare has always been the best pairing including creative salads with smoked meats or fish. My favorite companion for Wachau Riesling has always been classic fried chicken. Seriously! Try it!
