If you have a long memory, you will recall that this iconic estate was part of Terry Theise’s opening Austrian portfolio. We were therefore delighted when the family approached us to see if we would be interested in resuming relations, since we had nothing but positive recollections of our earlier co-operation. Styrian wines sell with the utmost of ease on the Austrian market, but have not done as well in America, perhaps because they compete so directly with other countries practising the “international” varieties, often at lower prices. So credit our farsighted friends for consciously offering us their wines at extremely competitive prices. The quality is unimpeachable across the range, from the entry-level Steirische Spiegel range to the trophies emanating from their celebrated single sites of Hochgrassnitzberg and Obegg. Polz has grown to a quite considerable size over the years. The core estate in Spielfeld sits quite literally on the Slovenian border, and offers as dramatic a picture as can be imagined, with its intersecting patchwork of vineyards trained at different angles across the steep folds of this verdant landscape. Because rainfall is so heavy in this region, grass and other cover crops are allowed to freely grow in all the rows, both to encourage competition and to fix the soil against erosion. Styria has now joined the DAC system, which is going to bring with it some very interesting changes to how the wines are categorized and sold. Young Christoph Polz, who has been making the wines now for the last several years, seems exceptionally well qualified to face the many challenges this and other developments will present him with. He and his younger brother Erich have now taken over the direction of the estate.