Rudi Pichler Grüner Veltliner Terrassen Smaragd

Grüner Veltliner Terrassen Smaragd bottle image

Wine Description

Smaragd is the Wachau designation for dry late harvest wines, above 12.5% alcohol through natural fermentation. The best smaragd wines can age well for decades. Terrassen indicates it is a cuvee of different hillsife sites. Old terraces of varied altitudes and orientations and with primitive rock soils make this wine an elegrant culinary accompaniment.

Rudi Pichler Winery
Rudi Pichler Vineyards
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Acclaim
"This powerful, solid Grüner is full of mineral, spice, smoke and ripe white fruit flavors that are supported by plenty of fresh acidity. The finish is filled with interesting smoke and glazed apricot notes. Drink now through 2030. 40 cases imported."
— Wine Spectator, May 2012
“The Pichler 2010 Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Terrassen offers a sweetly smoky Szechuan peppercorn-like note in the nose and corresponding piquancy on a glossy yet persistently juicy palate dominated by roasted red peppers, honeydew, and fresh lime but still with some of the crunch and subtle bitterness of salad greens that were a more prominent feature of the corresponding Federspiel. Given that it weighs-in at 13.4% alcohol, this displays a surprising not to mention delightful sense of lift, and there is an interactive intensity of peppery, sweetly vegetal, citric, and diverse mineral nuances in the finish that go beyond what one what one has any right to expect from a generic bottling, least of all in this difficult vintage. Expect this to perform well for at least 8-10 years.”
— Wine Advocate, Oct 2011
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Vineyard & Production Info
Vineyard name
The Terrassen vineyard
Soil composition
Gneiss, Rocky, and Slate
Training method
Cane-pruned
Elevation:
726-1,188 feet
Vines/acre:
1,800
Yield/acre:
1.2-2.16 tons
Exposure:
Southern / Southwestern
Year vineyard planted:
1970-1990
Harvest time:
November
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Winemaking & Aging
Varietal composition:
100% Grüner Veltliner
Fermentation container:
Stainless steel tanks
Length of alcoholic fermentation:
14 days
Fermentation temperature:
64-72 °F
Type of aging container:
Stainless steel tanks
Size of aging container:
1000-5000 L
Length of aging before bottling:
5 months
Length of bottle aging:
1 month
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Analytical Data
Acidity:
13 g/L
Alcohol:
13 %
Residual sugar:
7 g/L