Prieler
Prieler
This Article Contains |
People |
Georg Prieler
Focus |
Wines from Indigenous Blaufränkisch as well as Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay, Burgundian varietals, which have a centuries long history in the region. From the entry level to the top single vineyards they each show depth, finesse and age worthiness.
Country |
Austria
Region |
Burgenland
Village |
Schützen
Climate |
Moderate Continental
- Clearly delineated seasons, hot summers, cold winters.
- Each region in Austria is characterized by its proximity to the two competing cold and hot weather patterns.
- South from the Danube, in Burgenland they face the Pannonian plain and the full brunt of its warm westerly winds.
- This heat is what allows red grapes to ripen at such a northerly latitude
- Northern Burgenland gets 2,000 hours of sunshine annually, which makes it the sunniest region in all of central Europe,
- Below average rainfall.
- There is a cross over from primarily white wine country into red wine country
- The northern tip, at the Slovakian border, gets a touch of cooling influence of north wind from across the Weinviertel
- The southern Eisenberg region is the coolest from air flowing down the eastern Alps.
- Temperatures decrease the higher in elevation you go, so vineyards on mountains and even hillsides retain more acidity.
- Old forests encroach on vineyards and act as temperature regulators, cooling things down, offering shade and buffering winds from both the alps and the pannonian plain.
Vineyards |
20 ha
- Seeberg: Limestone dotted with fossils, planed to Pinot Blanc
- Haidsatz: “a layer of limestone over a slab of schist” planted to Pinot Blanc
- Marienthal: Calcareous sand and limestone over deep chalk, planted to Blaufränkisch
- Goldberg: Mica-schist soils planted to Blaufränkisch
Grape Varieties |
- Blaufränkisch
- An indigenous grape
- Can make wines that are both distinctive but also that have the ineffable feel of true classic
- Naturally high acidity with medium plus to high tannins, balanced by concentrated fruit
- excellent aging potential, but very approachable in youth.
- A Chinese five spice note is typical
- Fruit and structure are dictated by its soil types: typically red on limestone, black on slate, blue on schist.
- Like Pinot Noir, Blaufränkisch is not an especially easy grape to grow
- Needs proper site selection and knowledgeable winemakers to tame its acidity and tannin.
- Wines are often underpriced for their quality.
- Sankt Laurent
- Long thought to be a relative of Pinot Noir for its similar body and aromatics, Sankt Laurent is now known to be an unrelated and indigenous variety.
- It’s mainly grown in Burgenland and Thermenregion
- Makes for pretty, delicate wines, sometimes oak aged, with soft tannin.
- Never accumulates a lot of sugar, meaning it's always going to be light in body with low alcohol.
- Pinot Blanc / Weissburgunder
- the secret weapon Austrian whites.
- It was brought over with the Cisterian monks in the 10th century and is grown in small pockets in all the wine regions.
- Similar to Chardonnay, but with softer flavors and acidity.
- Makes great simple quaffing wines. But grown in the best plots it makes some of the most surprisingly concentrated and long lived wines in the country.
- It’s not exported often so bottles are hard to find outside of Austria, but not to be missed if you can lay your hands on one.
- Chardonnay
- Another grape brought over by the Cistercian monks so it’s had a long time to make a home for itself.
- Grown across the country, it is made in styles that range from light, unoaked, and Chablisienne to big, broad and toasty.
- There are some beautiful examples in Burgenland, Vienna, Lower Austria and especially the Steiermark.
Farming |
Organic
- Prune rigorously
- Plant cover crops
- Meticulous attention is paid to canopy management as their region receives so much sunlight
- Multiple, careful selections during harvest
- Goal is to balance alcohol while still achieving physiological ripeness
Cellar Work |
Traditional - Low Intervention
- Grapes are carefully crushed
- Spontaneous fermentation
- Fermented at closely controlled temperatures
- Fermented and aged in steel tanks or wooden casks, large and small
- The character of the variety and the vineyard determines where the wine will mature.
About the winery |
The Prielers have been farmers in the Leithagebirge region for 200 years. But it was Georgs grandfather who decided to bottle the grapes into wine first, while also maintaining a polycultural farm. Engelbert and Irmgard, Georg’s parents, decided to focus exclusively on wine starting in 1972 and immediately garnered attention for their outstanding bottles.
Now Georg is in charge and takes his role as farmer and winemaker of his family domain very seriously. He is quick to laugh and can easily set a room at ease. He always knew he wanted to be a vintner and his hyper attention to detail keeps pushing the quality of the estate forward.
Blaufränkisch, the Burgenland's terroir-transparent grape, is the crown jewel of the estate and they make several single vineyard bottlings from the variety. But his Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay, Burgundian varietals, which have a centuries long history in the region, are truly fantastic.
What do the wines taste like?
Classic, mineral, with subtle fruit. Reds have velvety refined tannins. The whites are on par with Burgundy and can age even longer.
Entry level wines are great quaffers, tuesday night, pizza wines.
They all balance the tightrope of artisanally crafted characterful expressions of place, and classic precision.
Wines on Offer |
Prieler, Blaufränkisch Goldberg Leithaberg DAC, 2019 $113.99 $100.31
"Mulberry, elderberry, toasted bread crust and vanilla whispers. Refined herbal high notes accented with mint and sage. The palate is complex, compact and deep, with a supple energy and elegance. Polished tannins need only suggest a shape and the fruit concentration falls in line. Sleek tension and minerality combine with the ethereal lift to make the wine seemingly weightless. Lingering, saline finish. Exceptionally elegant with excellent potential. 17.5+" — Paula Sidore, Jancis Robinson.com
Prieler, Blaufränkisch Leithaberg DAC, 2019 $23.99 $21.11
"Very deep purplish crimson. Very fresh and lively. Real transparency and light tannic grip. Stony quality – a bit like a high-elevation Mendoza wine?! 16.5 pts" — Jancis Robinson, MW
Prieler, Blaufränkisch Leithaberg DAC, 2019 $59.99 $52.79
"Very deep purplish crimson. Very fresh and lively. Real transparency and light tannic grip. Stony quality – a bit like a high-elevation Mendoza wine?! 16.5 pts" — Jancis Robinson, MW
Prieler, Blaufränkisch Marienthal [10 years aged at the winery], 2013 $159.99 $140.79
Prieler, Blaufränkisch Marienthal Leithaberg DAC, 2020 $119.99 $105.59
"Limestone - more cocoa and chocolate aromas, less bramble and there is more acid here and this feels like the lighter of the two. Both have excellent length, but Golberg feels like the more intense and “serious” of the two towering BFs. This is more sunny to Goldberg's cloudier, cooler structure." — Gabriel Clary, Skurnik Wines
Prieler, Chardonnay Schützen Sinner, 2022 $27.99 $24.63
"This is very good, nice structure and a bit cooler kind of tone, a bit more light vintage type of wine, light, white type of fruit. This was harvested first and this is where you found the character of the lighter side. 3 days on skins and the slightest bit of tannin, which I find really pleasant, feels almost like white tea." — Gabriel Clary, Skurnik Wines
Prieler, Gemischter Satz Kalkterrassen, 2022 $23.99 $21.11
"Planted together and pressed together is the rule. Steinweingarten, on active chalk. PB, Gelber, SB, GV and Welschriesling, reduced the yields of the aromatic varieties to get away from the aromatics. All stainless steel. This feels much more rich and ripe and much less aromatic. Much more in the pinot blanc direction than the first vintage I offered, which leaned into the more aromatic side of the varieties used – less Muscat-y." — Gabriel Clary, Skurnik Wines
Prieler, Pinot Blanc Leithaberg DAC, 2020 $48.99 $43.11
"This has a character like Chassagne and a kind of movement, this is very Burgundian and very long. This has just a touch reduction and is a beautiful kind of balance here. 60-90 year old vineyards and this may be the best white wine I have tasted at this address in some time. Moves from the kind of classic Burgundian flavors into a bit more wild; there are hints of herbal characters, savory, juniper, culinary herbs, but framed by ripe orchard fruits (more cox-orange than ripe pear) and lovely, firm structure." — Gabriel Clary, Skurnik Wines
Prieler, Pinot Blanc Schützen Ried Seeberg, 2022 $27.99 $24.63
"Three days on skins, this has more the typical PB flavor, this is very individual, with this limestone touch; mineral and open. This is something that has surprised me about this vintage – the wines, almost regardless of area, have felt very open and on display. A bit riper and rounder than the Chardonnay; Pinot Blanc is ripening in a different arc than PG or Ch, where the sugar ripeness increases more quickly than the acid is dropping. Limestone 90%, 10% Schist in this village." — Gabriel Clary, Skurnik Wines
Prieler, Rosé vom Stein, 2022 $23.99 $21.11
"This shows a bit more of a direct press to have a little bit more grip in the wine. This is much more in the structured side again, with the classic mineral flavor of the wine that makes it one of my favorite roses each year." — Gabriel Clary, Skurnik Wines
Prieler, St Laurent, 2019 $39.99 $35.19
"This has some more of the same tanning, but a bit more tannin and a very red fruited and tart kind of backbone. Really very good, more in the syrah direction than the 2020 and here the firmer structure works to support the wine." — Gabriel Clary, Skurnik Wines