2016 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich Smaragd
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Tasting notes
Like its 2015 counterpart – and in a departure from earlier practice – this installment of “Unendlich” is sourced from the Kellerberg and Höhereck as well as the more usual Loibenberg. Around 10 percent of the fruit, reported Lucas Pichler, was shriveled though botrytis-free. The result is an intense concentrate of succulent pear, peach and apricot headily draped in wisteria and lent counterpoint by pit piquancy and smoky, ore-like earthiness. The lusciously lingering finish billows with inner-mouth floral perfume and practically glows with piquancy while avoiding outright bitterness or heat.
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Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
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The 2016 Riesling Smaragd Unendlich is the late harvested part of over-ripe but still healthy grapes of the Loibenberg, Kellerberg and Höhereck. The wine opens with a concentrated bouquet of peaches and apricots, but the attack on the palate is fresh and racy. The wine is pure, rich and powerful, highly concentrated and piquant, and provided with fine tannins. For a classic Riesling, there is too much of everything at the moment.
The 2016 Riesling Smaragd Unendlich is the late harvested part of over-ripe but still healthy grapes of the Loibenberg, Kellerberg and Hohereck. The wine opens with a concentrated bouquet of peaches and apricots, but the attack on the palate is fresh and racy. The wine is pure, rich and powerful, highly concentrated and piquant, and provided with fine tannins. For a classic Riesling, there is too much of everything at the moment. Aug 2017, www.robertparker.com