2010 Emmerich Knoll Grüner Veltliner Vinothekfüllung Smaragd

Emmerich Knoll

Austria / Wachau / Emmerich Knoll

Viticulturist: Knoll family
Location: Wachau/ Unter-Loiben
Elevation/ Altitude: 240 – 350 m
Exposition: from the foot of the mountain and terraced vineyards with southern exposition
Soil type: different soils from all Grüner Veltliner single vineyards
Methods of training: modified Moser Training System
Density of planting: different density (Kreutles, Loibenberg, Kellerberg)
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

David Schildknecht

Wine Advocate

94-95 points

Knoll’s 2010 Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Vinothekfüllung – originating as usual in Kreutles, Loibenberg and Kellerberg – signals its saline, alkaline mineral traits already in the nose, along with suggestions of kelp, green bean, rhubarb, burley tobacco, succulently sweet pear and quince. There is an almost red wine sense of tannic structure and an ore-like as well as bittersweet herbal undertone to this wine’s rich palate performance and it finishes with terrific energy, diversity, and sheer length, incorporating mouth-watering salinity and an invigorating, smoky bite of Szechuan pepper. I can’t recall a more promising Knoll Vinothek bottling, which considering that until late October it was assumed they wouldn’t even attempt one this vintage, is a pretty strong testimony to the weather’s turn-around and to this family’s tenacity. Expect this to stand up to two decades of aging. Incidentally, it weighs in at almost exactly 14% alcohol, and as such represents the upper-bound for Knoll 2010s.

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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.

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