Winemaker Notes
Extremely complex vineyard that offers optimal terrain for both Veltliner and Rieslings. It turns a little to the southwest, so it still gets some heat in the evenings, although this is put into perspective by air currents from the north. The soil thickness, as well as the temperature within the vineyard, varies considerably. The foundation of Grüner Veltliner lies in the deeper and deeper terraces, whereby, despite a slightly creamier texture, vital acidity and profound minerality set the tone.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Cool and elegant gruner with apricot stones, pineapples, thyme and crushed stones here, plus some white pepper and flint. It’s medium-bodied and so fresh and mineral. Chalky and refined.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Ried Steinertal Grüner Veltliner Smaragd shows clear, dense, elegant, stony-spicy fruit. Dense and juicy, with a grippy tannin structure on the palate, this is a fresh, spicy and stimulating yet quite powerful Steinertal with substance and structure.
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Wine Spectator
A beguiling white, showing impressive depth and structure, with good power to the peach skin, orchard fruit and green plum notes splaying out across the broad-shouldered palate. Stays focused and pure, with a dusting of spices and green herbs on the firm finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Medium bodied and juicy, this white is filled with plenty of white pepper, which frames the core of peach and dried apricot flavors dominate. It turns almost creamy on the finish.
Fun to say and delightfully easy to drink, Grüner Veltliner calls Austria its homeland. While some easily quaffable Grüners come in a one-liter—a convenient size—many high caliber single vineyard bottlings can benefit from cellar aging. Somm Secret—About 75% of the world’s Grüner Veltliner comes from Austria but the variety is gaining ground in other countries, namely Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the United States.
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.