FJ Gritsch Riesling Ried Setzberg 2024

Cellar for up to 20 years. Decanting is optional, up to an hour before serving. Franz-Josef Gritsch is a pioneering wine-maker in the heart of Wachau Valley, crafting white wines with incredible longevity and an undeniable aura of greatness. As an only child and a seventh-generation Gritsch wine-maker, Franz-Josef understands how to balance modernity and tradition. While most of the grapes are hand-harvested, the wine itself is created in a state-of-the-art cellar in Spitz, named “Kalmuck”, after the traditional garb that Wachau vintners have worn for centuries. This wine was sourced from Setzberg, a sweeping, terraced vineyard sitting on a patchwork foundation of metamorphic rock. The Riesling grapes are planted up to an elevation of 400 metres, on relatively poor sandy soils, imparting an amazing concentration of fruit flavours to the resulting wine. It opens up with a bouquet of pink grapefruit, ripe peach, plum and steely minerality. This powerful Smaragd wine was fermented in stainless steel, before being aged on the lees in oak barrels. The palate is fruit-packed - notes of peach, plum and citrus are driven along by a linear acidity. It feels full in the mouth, with an ever so slight effervescence. The finish is long, with exaggerated hints of spice. This will be an excellent pairing for Mediterranean food, white fish, poultry or pork.

Price: £21.23 from 8wines UK