Vintage after vintage, Prager’s wines dazzle with their fine-tuned precision, finesse, and mineral cut.

Winemaker Toni Bodenstein is a master of the region and his minimalist approach to winemaking results in striking terroir transparency.

Today, we pay homage to Prager's work with the Grüner Veltliner grape in Achleiten. The staggering differences between the three wines not to mention their outright quality dramatizes the sensitivity of Bodenstein's winemaking.

Achleiten is one of the greatest sites in all of Austria. The mineral pungency and ruthless focus of this steeply terraced vineyard makes it the most singular. Few, if any winemakers, have explored this terroir with the scrutiny and curiosity of Bodenstein. Few winemakers know how to coax out its greatness like Bodenstein. He exploits differences in elevation and the vast amount of old massale selection vines to showcase the multi-dimensional fascination the vineyard can yield.

Prager's 2017s are deeply impressive. The ‘17s have everything we love about Prager’s wines - precision, clarity, and balance. Even though this is a weightier vintage, the wines have undeniable and very compelling elegance and grace.

The 2017 GV Achleiten Smaragd is seriously impressive. It stands out for its savory minerality, typical of Achleiten, and its remarkably persistent finish.

Stockkultur Smaragd is made from a mere 0.3 hectares of 80-year-old vines within Achleiten, which are some of the oldest vines in the entire Wachau. The term “Stockkultur” refers to the traditional method of training vines to a single stake. The 2017 GV Achleiten Stockkultur is simply stunning - it's radiant and refined, showing notes of citrus, stones, flowers, and spice.

Finally, we turn to the 2017 Wachstum Bodenstein. Wachstum, which means “growth” or “cru,” was planted in 1997 by Bodenstein at the top of Achleiten at an altitude of about 1,500 feet. Bodenstein’s goal when planting this parcel was to preserve the land’s biodiversity. It’s graceful and energetic with a beautiful, velvety texture.

Each of these expressions of Achileiten stands out on their own, but when you put them in conversation with each other they really blow you away. This great site is capable of such bewildering complexity that creating a specially priced 6-pack seemed obligatory.

These are some of the most refined Gruners being made today. Don’t miss.

To order, email offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.

Joe Salamone

Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits