Weingut Emmerich Knoll Ried Loibenberg Gruner Veltliner Smaragd, Wachau, Austria

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A piquant nose of citrus oil, toasted nuts, and pepper in the Knoll 2007 Gruner Veltliner Smaragd Loibenberg segues into a rich matrix of ripe white peach and lychee, offering another example of the delightful counterpoint that these wines can achieve between richness and pungent phenolic cut, the latter exemplified by pronounced lemon zest, white pepper, and bitter herbal notes in the finish. Marginally less flattering today than the Schutt, I suspect this will become the more interesting wine over the course of 7-9 years. Like many of their neighbors, the Knolls harvested Federspiel already in late September, but then largely sat out the rains for three weeks before commencing to pick Smaragd. Botrytis-affected clusters were segregated and pressed immediately, and even the entirely healthy portion of the crop was given less skin contact than usual. A few botrytized rows or parcels were left to hang for nobly sweet wine (in a vintage where few Wachauer followed suit) although not from Riesling. I continue to long for the return of a vintage wherein the Knoll Gruner Veltliner outshines their Riesling, as has not happened for some years now. As has once again become the norm here, none of the Smaragd (save for the Muskateller) were bottled before late summer of last year, and my most recent notes are from cask (or occasionally tank).Importer: Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700

The wine has richness, but it is the balancing freshness that makes this wine so delicious. There is also a core of tight structure, a layer of spice that comes through strongly. But that tense freshness holds the wine together and promises aging.——R.V.(7/1/2009)—— 92