Winemaker Notes
Wachau Riesling is dry and often defined by high levels of dry extract (due to a lengthyripening period) and a pleasing freshness (due to dramatic temperature swings between day and night). Rudi Pichler's Riesling Hochrain comes from vines up to 40 years old bringing density to this mineral-driven dry white wine.
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 a certain amount of saltiness. Conversely, it can highlight foods such as fish or vegetables in the same way a squeeze of lemon or a vinaigrette can.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Shows an elegant profile, with crystalline purity to the vibrant flavors of Bosc pear, peach, grapefruit and mineral. Structurally impressive, displaying impeccable balance, this hums through to the finish, inviting you to reach for more. Should reward aging. Best from 2021 through 2033.
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James Suckling
Very delicate, fine and complex aromas of spicy fruit with pear blossom and slightly peppery notes. The palate has such delicate flavors of pears and white peaches with a spear of fresh citrus at the stony finish. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Ried Hochrain Riesling Smaragd offers a delicate and refined bouquet of white stone fruits and weathered chalk. On the palate, this is a lush and elegant, very refined and balanced Riesling with nice mineral grip and lingering salinity on the well-structured and phenolic finish. Tasted at the domain in September 2019.
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.