Im Weingebirge Grüner Veltliner Smaragd trocken 2015

Wine description for Im Weingebirge Grüner Veltliner Smaragd dry 2015 by Nikolaihof

Colour & Appearance

Rich golden yellow with promising pale green reflections – a wine that wears its maturity openly, without appearing tired.

Nose

Complex and of quiet grandeur: the nose bears the hallmark of a great vintage, yet never raises its voice. Quince with its glossy, bacon-like skin, pale tobacco leaf and mace form the aromatic foundation. These are joined by dried Persian lime and a hint of roasted lemon chicken – cool, precise, invigorating. Despite its unmistakable greatness and maturity, the wine retains a youthful freshness that fascinates.

Palate

Whoever drinks this wine understands immediately: here speaks a wine that has nothing to prove. With enormous precision and perfect nonchalance, it unfolds on the palate – viscously underpinned, with silky fruit and a fine-grained phenolic structure of almost textile smoothness. No brash showing off, but contemplative calm from first sip to finish. A wine that fills a room without raising its voice.

Finish

Long, mineral and sustained by remarkably fresh acidity. 5.9 g/l total acidity provides tension and length – the finish resonates, calm and assured.

Terroir & Origin

The vineyard site Im Weingebirge in the Wachau is a place with history: some 1,500 years ago, Saint Severin is said to have withdrawn here for prayer. The soils of loam, loess and paragneiss lend the wine its characteristic depth and mineral rootedness.

Grape Variety & Vinification

Pure Grüner Veltliner, spontaneously fermented with indigenous yeasts. Maturation takes place over three and a half years in large, old wooden casks – a patience that pays immediate dividends in the glass. With only 2.1 g/l residual sugar, the wine is dry and of clear, austere character. Before serving, be sure to decant, preferably into a large glass – or better still: age it further in the cellar.

Food Pairing Suggestions

A wine for the table, not the bar. Ideal with turbot roasted on the bone with asparagus and veal jus, equally convincing with roasted partridge with glazed pearl onions, grapes and bacon. For those who prefer vegetarian: a leek and mushroom quiche with fresh grapes captures the essence of this wine perfectly.

Special Features

The Nikolaihof is Austria’s oldest wine estate – the property’s history dates back to 63 AD. Since 1971, the winery has worked consistently according to biodynamic principles (Demeter-certified) – nettle tea and valerian instead of herbicide and fungicide. This wine is not merely an expression of the vineyard site, but also of a life’s work.