Back-Vintage Rarity - Perfect Provenance 2001 Prager Riesling Achleiten Smaragd The Only Bottles in the Country Prager's 2001s are something of a legend. In fact, they are nothing short of EPIC. We found a small cellar of 2001 Pragers a few years ago and sold them quickly. Then, late this summer, the collector agreed to part with his final bottles, and so we've been offering them out, one by one. Now, we reach the apex and this is it: 2001 Riesling Achleiten at pricing that is below current release! There is no denying that 2001 is one of the greatest vintages in Austria of the last two decades. As good as we know these wines are, every time we check in on one it is better than we remember - clearer, more mineral, more structure. This parcel of Achleiten comes with a flawless provenance: bought on release, direct from the estate and cellared perfectly in Austria until their impending late/fall, early winter arrival. Toni Bodenstein at Weingut Prager is a terroir-fanatic; his wines are always among the most nuanced, pure, and precise in all of Austria. His 2001s are among the greatest he has ever made. We've mentioned this bottle before many times, but a 2001 Wachstum Bodenstein at Charlie Trotter's in Chicago was nothing less than a REVELATION. This 01 Achleiten Riesling is chiseled, sinewy and sappy. The palate is a full-force white squall of bright-light lemon pith, with MASSIVE, muscular minerality, fascinating notes of flint, crushed oyster shell and shattered slate... and then, washing over it all there's that brilliant, strong acidity, the glorious hallmark of the 2001 Austrians. While the 01 Achleiten is a lot of fun to drink now (open it a couple hours in advance and/or decant it for the full show), it most certainly has plenty of life ahead of it. Take down as much as you can - seriously. At this point we're the only store in the U.S. with any 2001 Prager and when this parcel is gone that's it.