The 2007 Riesling Smaragd Steinriegl is vividly peachy, with high-toned penetrating aromatic notes of citrus oil and fruit and herbal distillates that carry onto an oily rich palate, where mint, oregano, lemon, and peach are deployed with enormous refreshment and liveliness. Stony, chalky site-typical notes add to the long, pungent, citric, bitter-sweet, and persistently sappy finish. The textural richness and ripe flavors on display here belie this wine’s merely 13% alcohol, and it should age nicely for at least 5-7 years. Pichler’s 2007s differ very little in gross chemistry from his 2006s – including the high alcohol of several Gruner Veltliner – yet they have dramatically different personalities. Pichler compares them with his 1997s, and perhaps time in bottle will more clearly bear out that high praise. Rudi Pichler is a great believer in watchfully letting nature take its course and although some of his 2007s came in with pH levels many growers would consider alarmingly high he gave no thought to adjusting them, and the finished wines bear him out, displaying the vivacity and freshness typical of 2007.Importer: Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700