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
It’s hard to imagine how a dry riesling could be more graceful than this masterpiece of finesse and filigree. The precision of the flower- and white-fruit aromas is matched by the beauty of the wet-stone minerality on the medium-bodied palate. The almost endless finish makes you feel like you’re floating on a cloud, looking down into the Danube Valley. Sustainable. Drink or hold.
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Vinous
The 2023 Riesling Wachstum Bodenstein Smaragd is on the Hochseiber site, planted in 1990 with the most varied selection of Riesling genetics of 25 different clones from across Germany, Alsace and Wachau. The site reaches up to 460 meters, which was difficult to ripen at the time of planting. The breezy freshness of fragrant and aromatic citrus features tangerine, bergamot and grapefruit. The palate is milder than the nose suggests but is defined by a fine-boned smoothness, translucent stoniness and finesse. Zestiness at the core is key, carrying the essential and eternal citrus nature of Riesling forward. The finish is lovely, long and delicious. (Dry)
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Wine Spectator
This seduces with perfumed peach, meadow blossom, dried apricot and lilac notes. Juicy and generous on the richly styled palate, with great purity and salty energy for balance. Succulent acidity keeps this pumping along and draws out the finish. Concentrated, complex and 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.