#22 of PRIMA’s ’24 for 24’ Best Wines Of The Year

Raise your oyster game to its highest plane with this totally Gru-Vee wine from the steep south-facing slopes of the Wachau along the Danube River.  Pichler is a gold standard for quality in the appellation, and his Federspiel (a designation for a wine with natural alcohol between 11.5 and 12.5%) the perfect weight for those bivalves you’re contemplating.  Brilliantly dry, it’s almost gossamer in texture yet very assertive and just filled with character!  Mouthwatering, savory, minty and utterly delicious, this is not only perfect for oysters and the like, it has the requisite richness and freshness to cut through all kinds of fried foods- like, say, a Wiener Schnitzel, the usual call with a Gruner in its native Austria.  This outstanding wine will also age effortlessly for a decade or more.  Very highly recommended!