2021 Weingut Prieler, Pinot Blanc, Leithaberg DAC “Alte Reben” Burgenland, Austria.
Georg Prieler, one of my favorite Austrian producers, makes some of Europe’s best examples of complex and delicious Pinot Blanc, rivaling top notch versions from Alsace and the Alto Adige, with his latest Leithaberg old vine being an outstanding vintage. The 2021 Leithaberg Alte Reben Pinot Blanc is delicately golden in the glass and has surprising depth and structure to go with a lovely mineral toned palate of apple, lemon preserves, white peach and fleshy melon fruits, along with yeasty hazelnut, honeycomb, zingy herb and stony notes. Fresh and lively with a medium bodied feel there is a lot to admire here and elevates this varietal, which can rarely reach this level, this is stunning stuff again from Prieler. Prieler’s 20 hectares of vines are cultivated in small parcels between the Leithagebirge, which according to the winery, is the last outpost of the eastern Alps that protect the vines from the western winds, and the Lake Neusiedl, which tempers the hot climate of the Pannonian plain, where there is the most sunshine in all of Eastern Europe. I highly recommend digging deep into this latest Prieler collection. Prieler has many varietals planted here, including Blaufränkisch, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Welschriesling, Sankt Laurent, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which all enjoy lots of sunshine and a complex series of calcerous and iron rich soils with sand, limestone over deep chalk, fossilized rock and some mica-schist. As well as this Cru version, Prieler does the all stainless Seeberg bottling, which is a great value priced option as well.
The Prieler estate, as mentioned here in my prior reviews, founded in 1972, is based in Schützen, which sits on the western side of the Lake Neusiedl, in Burgenland, it is a historic old farm, that was once dedicated to many types of agriculture, but now specializing almost solely in grape growing. Georg Prieler is a the second generation Prieler to run this iconic winery and the one that has brought world wide acclaim to this property with his fantastic terroir driven Blaufränkisch and Pinot Blanc wines. Georg’s wife Silvia brings a wealth of experience to the winery with a PhD in biochemistry, international experience including an internship at Domaine Dujac in Burgundy and a precise touch, which explains the class and finesse in the wines. The winery notes that all of the grapes are carefully crushed and fermented at closely controlled temperatures in steel tanks or wooden casks. The character of the variety and the vineyard determines how the wine will be matured and what in. For example, the Prieler’s add, the most of the Pinot Blanc will aged exclusively in stainless steel to maximize freshness and clarity, though this one sees two days on the skins and some lees aging in large cask, which adds depth, as seen here. Prieler’s Blaufränkisch and Pinot Blanc bottlings take center stage in the lineup, with the 2020 Oggau Johanneshöhe Blaufränkisch and this white Burgundy like 2021 Leithaberg DAC Pinot Blanc Alte Reben (old vine) being my favorites, along with their dry Rosé and the Kalkterrassen Gemischter Satz (co-fermented white blend), which was all new to me. Again, as noted and written here, Prieler is a jewel of a winery and if you’ve not had them before, now is an excellent time to do so!
($45 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive