F.X. Pichler Grüner Veltliner Liebenberg 2024

F.X. Pichler reacquires a piece of Liebenberg, last bottled as a single-vineyard wine in 2020, and the result is immediately compelling. Old vines of 40-plus years pull from a rare combination of amphibolite and calcareous soils, and you can sense that complexity on the nose: ripe yellow pear flesh alongside the cooler edge of green pear peel, with a mossy, almost woodland quality underneath. White pepper arrives with conviction on the palate, followed by a vivid arugula-like bite that keeps everything lifted and savory. The texture is plush without softening the wine's drive, there's real depth here, and the freshness is unwavering to the last.