Rudi Pichler’s Riesling Smaragd Terrassen 2023 is a dry Wachau Riesling built from multiple terraced hillside parcels rather than a single named vineyard. It’s bottled under the Vinea Wachau “Smaragd” classification—its richest dry tier—and it meets the category’s minimum alcohol requirement at 12.5%. The wine is 100% Riesling, fermented and raised entirely in stainless steel with malolactic fermentation avoided, a technical setup that typically puts clarity and line ahead of overt winemaking influence.
The fruit comes from elevated, stony terraces with primary rock soils including gneiss and slate, and from mature vines reported around 60 years old. Farming and harvest decisions skew toward precision: low yields are cited at roughly 30–35 hl/ha, fruit is hand-harvested, and botrytis is “carefully removed by hand.” In a year that required attention in the vineyard, that detail matters. Wachau’s 2023 season included heat and a late-growing cycle, and the estate faced hail; according to the reporting tied to this bottling, the damage was sorted out so thoroughly that there was no Riesling Federspiel produced, concentrating efforts on the remaining wines.
Critics responded strongly. Falstaff’s Peter Moser awarded an excellent 95 points, positioning it among the top-scoring wines in its peer set. Vinous reviewer Anne Krebiehl MW was close behind at an excellent 94 points, calling it “bright, stony and almost breezy, but with wonderful concentration and drive.” She also notes that it finishes “with zest and a long trail of freshness,” a succinct summary of what the best modern Wachau Riesling aims to deliver: ripeness without heaviness and intensity without blur.
Analytically, it is firmly dry (1.7 g/L residual sugar) with 5.9 g/L acidity. Expect a concentrated, mineral-leaning Riesling with clear structure, more about momentum and length than obvious sweetness, and shaped by careful selection in a demanding vintage.
