2013 Domäne Wachau Riesling Smaragd Achleiten

Perfumed stones open to the 2014 Riesling Smaragd Achleiten, which was fermented and aged in large oak vats and indicates a great purity and minerality on the nose. The wine is very elegant but full of tension and minerals on the palate, which reveals a powerful and rich, somewhat sweetish Riesling that can neither compete with the Achleiten Veltliner in terms of finesse, nor the Loibenberg Riesling in terms of elegance and purity. I'd like the Achleiten more lean and less powerful, but this is my personal taste. The wine is elegant and mineral, and the future will tell us the truth about this 2014.

Gentian and violet perfume typical for this site is allied to hints of truffle that suggest botrytis (but no negative influences are evident). The aforementioned elements carry over to a brightly citric and piquantly zesty amalgam of grapefruit, lime and white peach on a firm but glycerol-rich palate. A mouthwateringly mineral, saline, savory suggestion of clam stock lends the vibrantly fruity, downright reverberating finish a compelling drinkability. What a wonderful opportunity this affords to experience one of the Wachau’s great sites at an affordable price! (This wine was rather awkwardly mixed up when I first tasted it some months before bottling, so if you tried it already at any time last year, I would highly recommend revisiting it.)