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. Wachstum Bodenstein’s high elevation, bordering the forest at the top of the mountain, produces one of Prager’s most mineral and finessed Rieslings.
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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James Suckling
The unique climatic situation of the highest altitude riesling vineyard in the Wachau (460 meters above sea level) in the warm 2017 vintage has resulted in astonishing aromatic complexity - from apples to pineapples via blackberries and peaches - and tremendous vitality that has produced a very long, leaping and bounding finish.
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Wine Spectator
Multidimensional, with one layer emerging after another. A wave of white peach and roasted pineapple flavors leads the way to the spice and chamomile notes, followed by an intense saltiness from minerality. All the elements are connected by a vivid structure that gives this focus. Seamless from start to finish, this imparts lots of pleasure now, but give it a few more years. Best from 2020 through 2033.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From 20+-year-old vines with different genetics (mostly Geisenheim clones), the 2017 Riesling Smaragd Wachstum Bodenstein is from the highest vineyards of the domaine (Weissenkirchen Hinterseiber at 400+ meters above sea level) and offers a flinty, fresh and lemon-scented bouquet with crushed stone aromas. It is a rich, dense and powerful, piquant and firmly structured but elegant Riesling with a long, intense and juicy finish. Very concentrated and promising but far too young.
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.