Peter Veyder-Malberg’s tiny, hand-farmed estate in Austria’s Wachau has become one of the most sought-after sources of grüner veltliner and riesling in Europe. A former advertising art director, he founded the winery in 2008 in the Spitzer Graben, the appellation’s coldest, most remote section, and has spent the years since acquiring and recultivating steep terraced vineyards that other producers had abandoned. He dry-farms organically, producing fewer than a thousand cases across all of his wines.

In Viessling, Bruck is considered the best and warmest vineyard. But Viessling is in the Spitzer Graben, the coldest reach of the Wachau, so "warmest" is relative. Full southern exposure meets sharp nighttime cooling at altitude, stretching the growing season and building tension in the wine. The soil is mica schist from top to bedrock, and there is no tractor access here.

The 2024 Bruck opens with the concentrated citrus and spicy aromatics that define Veyder-Malberg’s rieslings, followed by a delicate minerality and a finish that trails off toward wet stone and linden blossom. The acidity is precise and energizing. Riesling shaped by altitude and extremity.