2018 FX Pichler Gruner Veltliner Ried Loibenberg Smaragd

(93 points) Difficult to pick in time, the 2018 Ried Loibenberg Grüner Veltliner Smaragd offers a clear, fresh and flinty, elegant and balanced nose with riper fruit and delicately spicy aromas. Round, lush and intense on the palate, this full-bodied but elegant wine reveals a long and powerful finish that doesn't lose its freshness and elegance. The wine has good structure and phenolic grip but no phenolic or drying bitters. It combines elegance and freshness with power and extraordinarily ripe but still precise fruit. Pichler holds nine parcels in this large vineyard, of which the most are in the central part and in lower areas. Tasted at the domain in September 2019. (3/2020)

-Robert Parker's Wine Advocate