Orange zest, yellow apple, meadow herbs, and a whisper of white pepper — juicy and precise on the palate, with a bright seam of acidity, silky texture, and a long salty mineral finish that is pure Wachau. The 2024 Prager "Hinter der Burg" is a Federspiel Grüner Veltliner from a southeast-facing site above Weißenkirchen — "behind the old castle" — on ancient sedimentary soils rich in Danube river stones, one of the oldest vineyard sites in the Wachau. Sustainably farmed, hand-harvested, spontaneously fermented in stainless steel, never heavy, always alive. Franz Prager co-founded the Vinea Wachau and built one of Austria's great estates; his son-in-law Toni Bodenstein married into the family and took the wines somewhere even higher — a succession story that went exactly right. The entry point to one of the Wachau's most important addresses. Drink it cold, drink it soon.
