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Prieler, Leithaberg Pinot Blanc

Burgenland, Austria 2017 (750mL)
$45.00
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Prieler, Leithaberg Pinot Blanc

If one could have listened to the intense deliberation behind today’s offer, that alone would warrant your attention. Mind you, our dialogue was never about the extraordinary wine in the bottle, but of the words on the label. Would people buy an Austrian Pinot Blanc at this price range? We’ll find out the results in the coming hours, but we’re hoping the answer will be an emphatic “yes.” We understand that today’s offer may feel like a gamble, but I assure you that this pedigreed, Burgundy-modeled Pinot Blanc—from one of earth’s oldest winegrowing terroirs—is a sure thing. 
If you count me as a personal friend, then you know that I deeply care about two things when it comes to wine: value and white Burgundy. That, of course, can be largely counterintuitive, so I’m constantly scanning other regions/grapes/producers to emulate my favorite wines for fractions less. Enter Prieler. Because their wines are bonafide benchmarks with Burgundian finesse, I’ve been infatuated with this artisanal producer for over a decade—right about the time they were awarded “Vintner of the Year” and, soon after, “Best Wines of Austria.” This is where you turn when in need of a terroir-loaded, breathtakingly vivid bottle of wine, especially today’s flagship “Leithaberg” Pinot Blanc. This bottle has it all: historical significance, a region-defining producer, organic farming, and an inconceivable amount of value/varietal expression. We only have 13 cases in our possession, so if you want to try the best wines of a region, this limited gem must be on your list! 
Let’s not forget that (1) Pinot Blanc is a royal member of the Burgundian Pinot family and (2) the same Cistercian monks who planted Burgundy with Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay, migrated to today’s point of interest in the 1100s with vine cuttings of each—making Prieler’s Pinot Blanc a wine with legitimate Burgundy origins! Prieler, too, is deeply entrenched in Austria: Their family has been holding it down in their home village since 1347! Over centuries, they’ve mastered the land and soil, but it wasn’t until the 20th century that the first bottle of wine appeared. Georg Prieler now oversees the winemaking and precious real estate—which was mostly planted by his grandfather and great-grandfather. 

“Leithaberg” is a highly esteemed DAC that sits in the northern part of Burgenland, one of the world’s most ancient winegrowing zones. With the warm winds of nearby Lake Neusiedl and the cooling effect of the Leitha mountain range, a perfect growing climate has formed, as evidenced by the bountiful crops that have thrived here for hundreds and thousands of years. 

Today’s 2017 “Letihaberg” contains 100% Pinot Blanc that was farmed organically and harvested by hand. After a brief two-day maceration, the juice was pressed into 500-liter barrels. It matured in these vessels for over one year before bottling and subsequent aging. After a brief 15-minute decant, the wine sings with brilliant aromas of pear, yellow apple peel, white peach, lemon pith, mandarin, pineapple, exotic spice, lees, honeysuckle, wildflowers, and finely crushed rock. The medium-plus bodied wine is deeply satisfying and Burgundian, in the sense that it delivers layers of minerals, beautiful tension, and a rush of citrus-tree fruits that round out the palate. If this is your first Pinot Blanc, I assure you it won’t be your last: One sip of Prieler’s Leithaberg will have you wondering why this doesn’t share the same high-profile status of Chardonnay! The wine is sensational, the producer is elite, and the grape is Pinot Blanc. Do not miss out. Enjoy now and over the next 5-7 years. 
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Country
Austria
Region
Burgenland
Sub-Region
AustriaLeithaberg
Soil
Marine Limestone, Mica-Schist
Farming
Organic
Blend
Pinot Blanc 100%
Alcohol
13.5
OAK
500L Barrels
TEMP.
50
Glassware
Burgundy Stem
Drinking
Now-2025+
Decanting
15-30 Minutes
Pairing
Wiener Schnitzel

Austria

Northeastern Austria

Weinviertel

Considered by most to be the oldest growing zone in Austria, Weinviertel is also, geographically, the largest in the country and covers the vast, northeastern expanse of Lower Austria, stretching from the western border of Slovakia, following the Danube inland and veering up to the southern border of Czechia. Its name, which translates to “wine quarter,” reflects the region’s rich, ancient wine heritage and, according to the Weinviertel DAC website, there are “7,000 years of artifacts to prove it.”

Northeastern Austria

Wachau

Austria’s Wachau appellation is the country’s most acclaimed region. About an hour northwest of Vienna along the Danube River, the vista of the steep, terraced vineyards of the Wachau creates a magnificent landscape akin to a verdant, ancient amphitheater—it is a UNESCO World Heritage site, after all. With rich and unique soils here of löess and gneiss, which lend vivid minerality to the wine.

Eastern Austria

Burgenland

The Burgenland appellation, running along Austria’s border with Hungary southeast of Vienna, has a diverse topography and a mix of soils, with more primary rock and slate at higher locations and dense loams in the rolling hills that extend toward the Pannonian plain.

Southeastern Austria

Steiermark

The region of Styria (Steiermark) is in southeastern Austria which sits near the border with Slovenia. This area is studded with long-extinct volcanoes whose deposits are a key component of the local soils and the vineyards benefit from a classic Austrian push-pull of cool Alpine air and warmer “Pannonian” currents from the east.

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