2008 Domäne Wachau Riesling Kellerberg Smaragd

Domäne Wachau

Austria / Wachau / Domäne Wachau

Origin & Terroir
The Kellerberg is Dürnstein’s steep landmark mountain, rising up right behind Domäne Wachau’s baroque cellar castle. The vines root deeply into the light-coloured "Gföhler= Gneiss" which consists mainly of feldspar and quartz. Kellerberg is south-east facing with a somewhat cooler microclimate than the neighbouring Loibenberg. The wines from Kellerberg combine the pronounced mineral character of the Achleiten with the power and full body of the Loibenberg.
Grape Variety:
Riesling is never characterised by opulence and power but by elegance, acidity and mineral character. Wachau Rieslings can be rather powerful but always retain their elegance and minerality.
Classification:
Smaragd is the top category of Wachau wines. The name Smaragd was derived from the
magnificent emerald green lizard that can be found basking in hot and sunny spots in the
vineyards. Smaragd wines are dry, full-bodied and complex wines with plenty of finesse and great aging potential. Smaragd is a registered trademark of Vinea Wachau Nobilis Districtus e.V.
Vinification:
Riesling is a very demanding grape variety in the vineyard and shows best results only in carefully selected vineyards – Kellerberg is one of these premium Riesling sites. The grapes are carefully hand-picked. After some hours of maceration and temperature controlled fermentation, the wine matures on the fine lees in big old casks for several months. It was bottled in August 2009.
Tasting Notes:
Bright straw yellow, offering expressive aromas of vineyard-peach, green apple and tropical fruit backened up by a pronounced mineral character. Very concentrated and dense on the plate with a smooth texture. Excellent balance.

March, 2016

Jane Parkinson

Halliday Magazine

93 points

At a perfect drinking stage right now, this mature single-vineyard stunner from a well-respected cooperative in the Wachau Valley. It’s glistening gold and now has a lovely waxy undertone to the honeyed mango and bruised apple, with nice bitter orange finish. Stunning.

Campbell Mattinson

The Wine Front

94 points

Tasted a few German and Austrian rieslings courtesy of importer/distributor CellarHand recently and was pretty thoroughly impressed. The gruner veltliners didn’t really do it for me, but the rieslings certainly did … and I don’t even like riesling (topic for another day). This one’s Austrian.
Most accurate thing I can say is: this is my kind of wine. I adore sipping on it. It’s waxy, citric, textural, leesy, bright and focussed and delicious all at once. Personality plus. Persistence not a problem. Apple-like fruit intensity. Both fun and serious at once.

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About Domäne Wachau

Sustainable Austria-certified Domäne Wachau draws on some of the very best vineyards in the Wachau, including mythical names like Singerriedel, Achleiten, Kellerberg and Loibenberg. Estate chief Roman Horvath MW and winemaker Heinz Frischengruber have mobilised and energised some 250 small growers into growing balanced crops of ripe, healthy grapes across the valley. These translate to powerfully regional and site-specific wines that these days stand proudly next to the most revered estates of the region. The Domäne Wachau Terrassen and single-vineyard wines are sourced from the best grapes grown on the steep terraces of the Wachau. These are vinified with conscientious focus on terroir and express the mineral character derived from the complex rocky soils of the Wachau. They're also some of the very best-value wines that we import.

About

Before making his home in the Wachau, Roman worked in the wine trade as well as wineries in Chile and France. He was the second Austrian to successfully complete the prestigious MW course at the Institute of Masters of Wine in London. Roman joined the Domäne Wachau as winery director in 2004 where he has been responsible for the successful restructuring and strategic positioning of the winery. He also keeps very busy in his private life as a father who is proud of a daughter and twin boys.