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An estate both admired and beloved within Austria, for hearty yet focused whites and sumptuous deeply structured reds, both of which are undergoing certain deft transitions; the whites more primary (i.e., less malo) and the reds more succulent (i.e., fewer gravelly tannins). 

•Vineyard area: 16 hectares 

•Annual production: 6,250 cases 

•Top sites: Goldberg, Seeberg Ungerbergen 

•Soil types: slate, loam, calcareous sandstone, sand 

•Grape varieties: 40% Blaufränkish, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Pinot Blanc, 10% Zweigelt, 10% Welschriesling, 10% Chardonnay 

Falstaff (Austrian Wine Magazine) "Winery Prieler is Vintner of the Year 2009"

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - 91 Points ('06 vintage):

"The Prieler 2006 Blaufrankisch Johannishohe – harvested October 6 and raised in large old fuder – represents an even more remarkable value than usual, fully reflecting the virtues of this outstanding vintage and likely to be worth savoring for at least 4-5 years. Lightly-cooked raspberry tinged with brown spices, herbs, black pepper, and salt inform a wine of enormous sheer fruit generosity. Yet, carnal and mineral depths emerge in the long, clear-fruited, pungently herbal and spicy finish of this wine that will give you plenty to ponder even as you smack your lips. For instance, what is that “stuff” you can’t seem to get off them, and what can one call it if not “mineral?” For all of its ripeness, this Johannishohle reached only 13% finished alcohol, and Silvia Prieler maintains that conversion by the yeasts was dramatically inefficient in 2006. This might even help to account for the sheer wealth of secondary complexities in these wines, if the yeasts chemically shunted sugar away from the alcoholic “main line.” Whatever the reasons, the results should not be missed! The quality of 2006 for Burgenland’s premier red variety fully merited the late bottling practiced by Prielers, with the result that I have still not tasted from bottle three that were still in cask until last September." - David Schildknecht (2/2009)