*RARE* Half-Bottles, Half Price...
2009 FX Pichler Grüner Veltliner Loibenberg
2009 FX Pichler Grüner Veltliner "M"
Top bottlings of FX Pichler for under $40?
Y'up, that's fun.
In the half-bottle format it's also a reality.
Today we present two top Grüners from FX Pichler in the rare half-bottle format. For their value as well as for their everyday utility, the half-bottle is one of our favorite formats (aging them is very rewarding as well, see below). Pichler's top Grüner bottling, the literally monumental "M" is, after all, an $80 investment in 750ml - not especially a bottle you want to casually pop open on a Wednesday evening.
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To be honest, we've *never* seen FX Pichler half-bottles (aside from a few rare bottles of TBA), so put aside the value, the casual ease of the half-bottle... for me personally it's almost worth it for the geeky appeal alone.
Naturally it doesn't hurt that the wines are, year in and year out, among the most collectible, luxurious and finessed wines to come out of Austria.
I visited with Lucas Pichler in June (pictured left) and tasted through the entire collection and while 2009 was a difficult vintage, the estate navigated it beautifully, easily producing one of the collections of the vintage - which is, admittedly, hardly surprising.
It's a vintage of bulbous, ripe, juicy midpalates married to muscular acidities. As a vintage 2009 is a mix of 2006 and 2007, though closer to the latter - which in my book is just about perfect. As with 2006, it is a ripe vintage with midpalates that have an almost tactile presence, a density to them (although in FX Pichler's case, without the weight). As with 2007, the vintage has a beautiful acidity, more rigor and balance than with many of the 2006s.
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The Grüner Loibenberg is to my palate the most expressive and floral Grüner in the Pichler collection - the 2009 is heady with perfume, ripe stone fruits and textured herbal details.
The "M" - short for "monumental" - is a Grüner sourced from some of Pichler's best parcels and it is a wine with a stature every bit as regal and ageworthy as top white Burgundy. Along with the floral and herbal notes, the "M" showcases deeper fruit and spice tones, bass notes that provide an impressive foundation for the wine.
For those curious to experience Pichler's "M" but not exactly interested in the $80 price tag the regular bottles carry, here's your chance.
That said, your chance may not last long. These wines are some of the most coveted bottles from Austria and given the rarity of half-bottles and the lean price-points here, we expect this small parcel to sell out quickly.
To order, reply to this email or call the store at (212) 980-9463. Please give us your maximum request and we'll do our best to allocate.
Stephen Bitterolf
Wine Director
Crush Wine & Spirits
Grüner Loibenberg Smaragd Half-Bottle (375ml)
Grüner "M" Smaragd Half-Bottle (375ml)
Why aging half-bottles is fun!
A quick word about the half bottle: While large-format bottlings are coveted by collectors for their ability to stand the test of time, the half-bottle is doted on by and loved all the more for its ability to zip into the future ahead of us - delivering the pleasures of tomorrow, today. The chemistry (or is it physics?) here is pretty simple; a similar amount of air trapped in the bottle with roughly half the amount of liquid, thus the air to wine ratio is much more severe. That said, this format also offers the perfect amount of wine for the quiet evening, doling out about 2 and a half glasses. With all this acclaim, why don't you see more half bottles of great wines? The answers are simple: the glass for halves is more expensive, the bottle requires a smaller label (read: increased printing costs), and in some cases different bottling machinery. Not to mention the fact that top estates can easily sell all of their top wines in regular size bottles, so why bother? I, for one, am glad FX Pichler did bother!
Wine arrives winter 2010/2011
NET | No further discount