Weingut Emmerich Knoll Loibne Chardonnay Smaragd, Wachau, Austria

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Clover and honeysuckle scent the Knoll 2010 Chardonnay Smaragd, a wine whose fresh, juicy apple fruit and wafting inner-mouth floral perfume perfectly fit its sense of buoyancy such as one doesn’t often encounter in a Smaragd. (Analytically, this is a bit over 13% in alcohol.) Silken textured and deriving finishing counterpoint from iodine and apple pip, it ought to prove delightful at table (not to mention in a blind tasting) over the next 6-8 years. Knoll is among the few Wachau growers to retain even now a long-standing tradition of “Feinburgunder” (as Chardonnay was labeled until near the recent millennial turn). “Warmth and wind at the end of October gave Smaragd the extra push, especially for Gruner Veltliner,” notes Emmerich Knoll Senior, and his estate did not begin picking that category until the first week in November. “Up until then, it pretty much counted as settled that we wouldn’t bottle a 2010 Vinothek in either Riesling or Gruner Veltliner, which in fact we did. But I can’t recall when the Smaragd ever had acid levels identical to the Federspiel as happened this year. Not that I’m unhappy about this,” he adds with a laugh. “There have been and will be quite a few vintages in which we would be happy for some of 2010’s acidity.” A portion of the Riesling Federspiel crop was de-acidified as must. Total production was only around half of what Knoll considers normal. None of the Smaragd – collectively, almost unbelievably, representing the heart of one of the finest Knoll collections in memory – was not due to have been bottled until late this summer.Importer: Circo Vino Besenville, IL; tel. (417) 732 4200

The 2004 Chardonnay Smaragd smells of baked apple with peach-like accents. In the mouth it is rich and creamy, with apple and peach fruit in a nice contrast with the faint bitterness of fruit pits and toasted nuts. The satisfying finish suggests both creaminess and brightness. An exotic in Knoll’s grape menagerie is the yellow or Gelber Traminer, which he introduced some years ago from the Salomon vineyards in Stein. Importer: Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700

The 1994 Chardonnay Smaragd is fresh, one-dimensional, and pleasant, but not exciting. Many similarly-styled Chardonnays from the Venezia region of Italy can be purchased for under $10 a bottle.Importer: a Terry Theise Selection, Milton S. Kronheim & Co., Jessup, MD; tel. (410) 724-3369