Josef Fischer Gruner Veltliner 'Reid Mugler' Smaragd Wachau 2021

The Fischer family has produced wine on the Danube's southern banks for centuries, from holdings in and around their home village of Rossatz, in the eastern stretches of the Wachau. The winery itself traces its roots to 1898, and today fifth-generation Josef Fischer (or "Joe," to distinguish him from his father-also named Josef) works 11 hectares of Gruner Veltliner and Riesling from several of Rossatz's top sites. Only a small percentage of Wachau winegrowers work organically, due to the immense amount of manual labor required to farm on the region's terraces; Joe, however, works completely without synthetic chemicals in his beautifully tended vineyards, and the winery is certified organic. He inherited this deep respect for sustainability from his father, who, in a true instance of living up to one's surname, has been engaged in a decades-long passion project of breeding the fabled but near-extinct Huchen-the royal fish of the Habsburgs-and repopulating the river with them. (The wines' striking front labels pay homage to Josef's pursuit.)

Medium greenish yellow, silver reflections. Fine herbal notes, delicate white apple, tangerine zest, blossom honey. Juicy, elegant, apricot fruit, subtle pear, fine spice, baby banana aftertaste, a good food wine.