2012 Emmerich Knoll Grüner Veltliner Loibenberg Smaragd

Emmerich Knoll

Austria / Wachau / Emmerich Knoll

Viticulturist: Knoll family
Location: Wachau/ Unter-Loiben
Elevation/Altitude: 260 - 350 m
Exposition: South/stone terraced vineyards
Soil type: Loess over Gneiss parent stone
Vineyard’s style: Warmest climate, creamy, intense, round and yellow wines, sometimes tobacco flavours
Methods of training Modified Moser training System
Density of planting: 5,000 – 6,500 per hectare / 2.40 – 2.80m row spacing
Average vine age of this vineyard: 10 to 50 years; average 28 years
Harvesting: By hand; selective harvest; green harvest if necessary
VINIFICATION
Pre-fermentation: No destemming, skin contact, no carbonic maceration, pneumatic press
Yeast: Cultured and natural yeast
Fermentation vessel size & material: Cask and stainless steel tank from 500 to 5,000 litres depending on batch quantity
Fermentation length & temperature: 5- 15 days, 23 - 26 degrees
ELEVAGE/ MATURATION
Lees ageing: 6 - 8 months, no bâtonnage
Racking : Twice
FINISHING
Clarification/Filtration: filtration
Closure: Natural cork

July, 2014

Julia Harding MW

jancisrobinson.com

17/20

"Riper fruit nose than the Schütt 2012, citrus and white pepper still there but also a touch of apricot and blossom. Tighter and crisper on the palate, still intense but less broad and rich in the mouth but more gentle. 17/20."

Joel B. Payne

Vinous Media

92 points

A subtle peach fragrance is lifted by nuances of herbal spices, white pepper and wet stone. Despite its considerable power and complexity, this wine remains comparatively light on its feet thanks to its subtle acidity and firm mineral core. A well-balanced wine with surprising intensity and persistence, this is one of the most impressive of Knoll's grüner veltliners.

Kim Marcus

Wine Spectator

93 points

Bold, rich and ripe, showing unctuous and complex flavors of peach cobbler, baked apple and dried pear, flanked by notes of dried mango and pineapple. Features crème brûlée hints midpalate, with dried apricot and golden raisin details lingering on the finish. Drink now through 2022.

David Schildknecht

Wine Advocate

92 points

The Knoll 2012 Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Loibenberg delivers an alliance of sweet pea with rich, cardamom and nutmeg-tinged peachy fruit that is characteristic of this bottling in ripe vintages. A hint of stone serves as a fascinating counterpoint in a polished, sustained, very slightly warm finish. Plan to follow this through 2025 and anticipate some further complexity emerging from today’s already impressive performance.

Standard Bottle Out of Stock

About Emmerich Knoll

"This winery has produced so many cult wines over the last decades that it would not be a problem to fill an entire book with their tasting notes." So goes the Falstaff Ultimate Wine Guide's entry on Knoll, pronounced with a K. The winery uses exclusively old oak foudres and implements a winemaking philosophy that places varietal site expression at the forefront. Emmerich Knoll senior is a thoughtful, quiet man; the opposite of Emmerich junior, cosmopolitan and modern in his approach. The Knolls have holdings in all the best sites, as exemplified by their success in the now infamous UK tasting where an aged Knoll Grüner beat a field of Grand Cru white Burgundies. The unmistakable labels bearing the image of Saint Urban, the patron saint of winegrowing, are a reminder that tradition is the watchword here. But what isn’t so obvious is that Emmerich Knoll’s wines are sheer joy to drink — now or far into the future.

About