Rudi Pichler Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Achleiten 2016

Struck flint and gentian open the nose, followed by white peach with a pronounced stone-fruit depth, pit and all. The wine is full and glycerol-rich on entry, with a succulence that carries through to a finish poised between sweet-saline lobster shell and the briny, seaweed-laced savour of oyster liquor. Roasted turnip and nutty lentil add an earthy undercurrent that keeps things from tipping into simple opulence. That finish is something else, buoyant and mouth-watering in a way that's hard to put down to any single element. Worth noting: a small 160-bottle lot left on lees longer than usual showed a richer texture and even more pronounced peach character, though it traded some complexity in the process.