Winemaker Notes
Austrian Riesling is often defined by elevated levels of dry extract thanks to a lengthy ripening period and freshness due to dramatic temperature swings between day and night. Wines from Achleiten's highly complex soils are famously marked by a mineral note of flint or gun smoke, are intensely flavored, and reliably long-lived.
Riesling's high acidity makes it one of the most versatile wines at the table. Riesling can be used to cut the fattiness of foods such as pork or sausages and can tame some saltiness. Conversely, it can highlight foods such as fish or vegetables in the same way a squeeze of lemon or a vinaigrette might.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2024 Riesling Ried Achleiten Smaragd is made from vines planted in the 1950s, late 1950s and 1991 at different aspects facing east, south and west. It mixes fresh, scented green and yellow citrus notes with a delicious hint of flint. With more air, a slight element of yeast emerges. The palate is linear, elegant, bright and slender, and yes, this is indeed a Smaragd of exquisite elegance and sinuousness. Slowly, white peach and aromatic pale nectarine shine through. Exquisite.
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James Suckling
Already open and expressive, this is full of ripe peaches and lemon blossoms, backed by steely acidity on the tense, medium-bodied palate. With some aeration, this gains considerable textural complexity. Stony finish.
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Wine Spectator
A broad, seductive version, with layer after layer of ripe apricot, dried ginger and kumquat notes set against dusty earth and chamomile elements, all shored up by steely mineral undercurrents and racy acidic verve. Dried sage and thyme play out on the long, winding finish alongside a waft of smoke. Delicious.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
As Austria’s most prestigious wine growing region, the landscape of the Wachau is—not surprisingly—one of its most dramatic. Millions of years ago, the Danube River chiseled its way through the earth, creating steep terraces of decomposed volcanic and metamorphic rock. Harsh Ice Age winds brought deposits of ancient glacial dust and loess to the terrace’s eastern faces. Today these steep surfaces of nutrient-poor and fast draining soil are home to some of Austria’s very best sites for both Grüner Veltliner and Riesling.
Wachau is small, comprising a mere three percent of Austria’s vine surface and, considering relatively low yields, represents a miniscule proportion of total wine production. Diurnal temperature shifts in Wachau facilitate great balance of sugar and phenolic ripeness in its grapes. At night cold air from the Alps and forests in the northwest displace warm afternoon air, which gets sucked upstream along the Danube.
Its sites are actually so varied and distinct that more emphasis is going into vineyard-designated offerings even despite grape variety. Grüner Veltliner and Riesling are most prominent, but the region produces Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc (Weissburgunder), Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and Zweigelt among other local variants.