The family-owned and operated Weingut Knoll is renowned for its excellent wines and pursuit of quality wine in Austria. The winery cultivates 15 hectares of land in Austria's most prolific terroir, the Wachau. The family vineyards are in and around the village of Loiben, where the vines are planted to stone-terraced sites of gneiss or granite layered with glacial sediment along the northern banks of the Danube River. The winery's cellar work is done traditionally, with large oak casks used for maturation, resulting in wines that age gracefully over time. 

2023 was an excellent vintage here, with fair weather leading to good ripening of grapes with retention of acidity. In years like this, Knoll is able to make Smaragd bottlings, which are designated as such due to a higher alcohol content and later harvest date. Later harvest does NOT mean sweet, as this wine is fully dry and clocks in at 13% abv (quite high for a cool climate region). Not a petrol-driven Riesling, more tight and energetic with notes of fresh almonds, white peach, and sake on the ester-laden nose; beautifully textured with exceptional body and smooth mineral undercurrent. 

Pairing: Fatty Tuna Sashimi, Scallop Curry 

Grape: Riesling  

Soil: Loess- glacial, wind-blown, fertile, calcareous sediment

Viticulture: Sustainable