2012 Riesling Loibenberg Smaragd

Zesty, fresh lime laced with sage, huckleberry and mint render the Knoll 2012 Riesling Smaragd Loibenberg invigoratingly piquant as well as refreshing. As with the trio of Federspiel Rieslings in this collection, there are gloss and palpable extract-richness here to buffer any tart or bitter tendencies, which in the present instance are restrained. There are hints of warmth and mealy earthiness to the finish but also a welcome, saliva-drawing hint of salinity, and the overall impression conveyed is of an admirable alliance of rich ripeness and brightness, rustic rather than refined. I would tentatively plan to drink this by 2017. Circumstances conspired for the Knolls to harvest a good-sized 2012 crop, all of which was brought in by November 8 (some parcels of Gruner Veltliner being almost as late as the last Riesling). “The Gruner Veltliner kept accumulating sugar,” reports Emmerich Knoll Sr., echoing comments from other growers, “whereas Riesling remained at almost the same level from the mid to late October, and we took a pause from picking it before coming back at the end.” A new cellar facility has made it easier to perpetuate and even to expand the applicable range of this estate’s tradition of bottling their best wines only at summer’s end. Importer: Circo Vino, Tucson, AZ; tel. (417) 732-4200