Weingut Emmerich Knoll Ried Loibenberg Riesling Smaragd, Wachau, Austria

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Knolls’ 2010 Riesling Smaragd Loibenberg delivers pure, ripe white peach tinged with the piquancy of its pits, and juicy lime and orange laced with the bitterness of their rinds. Sweet, musky peony-like perfume adds intrigue and allure. Surprisingly sedate given the vivacity and dynamic exhibited by the corresponding and marginally higher-alcohol Gruner Veltliners, this silken-textured, juicy Riesling Smaragd delivers an utterly intriguing, subtly long panoply of mineral nuances – crushed stone, iodine, alkalinity, and others ineffable – that should bring Riesling-lovers back over the next decade. “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

A wine that edges towards sweetness, while still retaining a piercing, refreshing acidity. Honey, pineapple and spice are contained in a package of minerality with a hint of saltiness, suggesting long aging.——R.V.(12/31/2010)—— 92

Mouth-watering scents lemon, lavender, red raspberry, and sea salt lend the Knoll 2007 Riesling Smaragd Loibenberg a rather Nahe-like complexion. Long-lined, refined in texture, and formidably concentrated, this offers slightly less succulent, juicy satisfaction today than the nose has led one to expect (or desire). But there is compensatory complexity of an essentially mineral sort and an impressive degree of cut to the finish. This will need a couple of years in bottle, I suspect, and should keep well for at least 5-6. Like many of their neighbors, the Knolls harvested Federspiel already in late September, but then largely sat out the rains for three weeks before commencing to pick Smaragd. Botrytis-affected clusters were segregated and pressed immediately, and even the entirely healthy portion of the crop was given less skin contact than usual. A few botrytized rows or parcels were left to hang for nobly sweet wine (in a vintage where few Wachauer followed suit) although not from Riesling. I continue to long for the return of a vintage wherein the Knoll Gruner Veltliner outshines their Riesling, as has not happened for some years now. As has once again become the norm here, none of the Smaragd (save for the Muskateller) were bottled before late summer of last year, and my most recent notes are from cask (or occasionally tank).Importer: Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700