Marriage of styles makes great whites in Wachau
Some say opposites attract. That certainly seems to be the case with Elisabeth Pichler and Erich Krutzler, two young winemakers from leading wine families who are now establishing themselves as one of the new power couples on the Austrian wine scene.
Elisabeth is is the daughter of the cult winemaker Franz Xaver ( F. X.) Pichler – her brother Lucas is the fifth generation to run the family estate. “Elisabeth is a posh elegant Wachau girl,” as her husband Erich fondly describes her.
She was brought up in the staunchly conservative Wachau wine region, Austria’s most established and notable wine region.
Erich calls himself “Pannonian”. He is halfHungarian from Sud Burgenland, in southern Austria.
“I come from a very different background as my family were originally pig- breeders and farmers, who started to grow vines in the late 1960s. I did not go to oenology school, my father taught me how to make wine,” says Erich.
Krutzler, his family’s small winery in Deutsch- Schutzen village sandwiched between Hungary in the east and Styria in the west, was one of the first to spearhead a crusade for top quality Austrian reds. Today his brother Reinhold is one of the most highly rated Austrian red wine producers.
So when the daughter of Austria’s leading white winemaker married the son of the Austria’s leading red winemaker, everyone was eager to see where Elisabeth and Erich would set up their own winery.
“We originally planned to go to the Hungarian side of the border to make kékfrankos,” says Erich, “but were lured to Elisabeth’s homeland in the Wachau with its superb vineyard sites to make grüner veltliner and riesling.”
Weingut Pichler- Krutzler in Oberloiben, a village on the Danube in Wachau, began with 10,000 bottles, but now produces 75,000 bottles of
which 70 per cent is exported.
“I am a hearts and stomach winemaker,” says Erich. “My approach is very different to others in Wachau as I did not come from the area,” he says.
He refuses to join Wachau’s Association which classifies and labels their wines into different categories according to ripeness and must weight ( similar to the German system). “I don’t want to make a classification of alcohol and sugar in my wines – I believe Wachau should label their wines more like Burgundy rather than Germany,” he says.
“We do have a lot of arguments,” says Elisabeth jokingly – “as Erich likes to pick early and I like to pick later for more intense styles as my father taught me,” she says.
Matched alongside a tasting menu at Le Roi Fou restaurant in Edinburgh, Elisabeth and Erich showed 20 wines from six vintages demonstrating the difference between vintages in Wachau from cooler 2016 and 2014 to warmer 2013, 2015 and 2017.
Gruner Veltliner Loibenberg 2016 PichlerKrutzler £ 36
Typical Wachau richness from this sunny Danube vineyard. Rich peachy fruits with celery undertones, zesty tangy palate, hints of lees with a silky texture and opulent weight with 13.5 per cent alcohol even in the cooler 2016 vintage.
Gruner Veltliner Loibenberg 2014 Pichler- Krutzler £ 33
A wine which shows its 50- year- old vine pedigree in a rich intense baroque style, succulent fruits with minerally undertones, good acid- sugar balance, shows strict selection has taken place here in the tricky 2014 vintage.
Gruner Veltliner Supperin 2013 Pichler- Krutzler
£ 38
From a sloped ( rather than terraced) Danube vineyard named ‘ Supperin’, originally an apple orchard. From 2013, one of Wachau’s most perfect vintages with very rich lush apricot and fig aromas, very rich and concentrated almost spicy, lemon rich acidity – beautifully mature example of Pichler- Krutzler’s style.
Riesling Kellerberg 2016 PichlerKrutzler £ 42
Kellerberg is the best single vineyard in Wachau with south- east exposure, cool air at night which ensures high acidity in the grapes – riesling is planted up to 350 metres here. This is a good example of Kellerberg’s steely amd crisp style. Very attractive citrus bouquet with a hint of honey, intense flinty palate with a sleek linear structure and rich concentrated tangy flavours – should mature beautifully.
Riesling Loibenberg 2013 Pichler- Krutzler £ 36.50
Opulent ripe apricot and plum bouquet, more honey and plumpness on the palate with a nutty citric minerally undertone and a long sleek lemony finish. This really demonstrates PichlerKrutzler’s purity of expression from such a warm sunny vineyard site in a classic Wachau vintage.
Riesling Kellerberg 2015 PichlerKrutzler £ 42.20
Juicy baroque style from the warm 2015 vintage. Rich, full, succulent and very ripe orange aromas with floral hints, sleek minerally notes with a lovely weight of fruit. Alcohol at 13.5 per cent is quite high, but the palate has superb balance with rich fruits interwoven with lemony acidity. ■
Available from Raeburn Fine Wines, Edinburgh, 0131- 343 1159, raeburnfinewines. com