93 Wine & Spirits

"This wine balances ripe stone and citrus fruit flavors against savory notes that seem to result from both grape variety and soil, feeling pungent and smoky under the plush fruit. It's complex and finely detailed despite its richness, finishing with length, depth and poise." 93 points Wine & Spirits

"Pale green-yellow. Gooseberry jelly, redcurrant, yellow apple and discreet honey and green hazelnut on the nose. Full-bodied and juicy, with elegant ripe papaya and grapefruit in the mouth. Smoky flint lingers on the finish. Offers excellent potential for further development. Drink through 2017." 92 points - Peter Moser - International Wine Cellar

"Bodenstein's 2007 Gruner Veltliner Smaragd Zwerithaler comes from another site planted with old vines of diverse clonal origin and condition. 'You can't really call it a vineyard,' he says, 'more like a hospital ward!' Persimmon, beet root, brown spices, and white pepper run all the way through this darkly-hued, bone dry (1.5 gram residual sugar) Veltliner. Smoky notes and subtle but insistent fruit skin tartness invigorate, and a palpable sense of extract puts an impressive, stony floor beneath the flavors, leading to a long, pepper and crushed stone dusted finish. I suspect this will be worth hanging on to for 6-8 years at least." 90 points - David Schildknecht - Wine Advocate

"Broad, rich, open and readable. Delicious. Drink 2008 to 2011. (JR)" 17.5 points out of 20, Jancis Robinson's Purple Pages

WINERY:
"Franz Prager, now retired, was a co-founder of the Vinea Wachau association in 1983, which has been fundamental in preserving the quality and culture of Wachau wines, and in promoting the image of the Wachau well beyond Austria's borders. In that era, Prager's holdings already included some of the top crus of the region, including Steinriegl and Achleiten, and was producing some of the best examples of traditionally crafted Wachau wine, but there was little understanding of the respective potential of these special vineyards at that time, or what distinguished one from another."

"The marriage of a Vienna born young man, Toni Bodenstein to Ilse Prager ushered in a sweeping renaissance at the Prager winery that changed the way Prager, and many other Wachauers, think about their vineyards and about their work as winemakers. Bodenstein, a biologist, geologist, historian, and, at the time, aspiring winemaker, determined that there was much left to learn about the vineyards, and as a scientist, set out to study the effects on the vines of different soil conditions and climates. He took this analytical approach to the terraces across the zone, and became enamored with the varied terroirs. Bodenstein then went shopping, making it known that Prager was interested in purchasing parcels within certain vineyards. Since the average farmer owns less than one acre, this was a complicated task."

"Today, as a result of this work, Bodenstein vinifies Riesling from eight different vineyards, and Gruner Veltliner from seven, all contained within a total production of less than 10,000 cases. Each bottling carries the hallmark terroir of its vineyard, and each is as distinctive in the bottle as Bodenstein predicted. Prager's reputation has grown enormously and Bodenstein is humbled by the press naming him 'Mr. Terroir.'" -Importer