2007 Riesling Ried Kellerberg Smaragd

Lime and sweet corn in the Knoll 2007 Riesling Smaragd Kellerberg put one in mind of Deidesheim. (Please excuse the German comparisons, but in a Wachau Riesling vintage with the brightness of 2007 they come naturally.) This wine harbors a notable sense of sheer extract and while it presently lacks the signature peppery pungency of Kellerberg, it offers a sense of salt and crushed stone in the finish. I wonder whether it, too, needs a year or two in bottle to blossom (or to be tasted on another day) but I suspect it will be best drunk within 4-5 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