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IT Between Melk and Krems, the Danube has carved its way through the ancient rock of the Bohemian Massif, and on the slopes above the river, dry-stone walls rise in terraces where Riesling and Grüner Veltliner thrive. Wine from the Wachau draws its character from an interplay of air currents: by day, Pannonian warmth from the east sweeps through the valley, whilst at night cool air descends from the Waldviertel, allowing the grapes to ripen slowly into wines with taut acidity and stony depth. All our Wachau wines come from Nikolaihof in Mautern, Austria’s oldest estate, which has been farmed biodynamically since 1971, and range from light Federspiel to Smaragd and archival vintages aged for many years in large wooden casks.
≈ Aroma: Stone fruit
In all wines: 571 Wines
More about Wachau
Wine from the Wachau: gneiss, loess and terraces above the Danube
The Wachau is a narrow, river-cut valley. On the north side of the Danube the slopes rise steeply, and only dry-stone walls hold in place the thin topsoil of weathered gneiss and amphibolite. Lower down and on the gentler slopes lies loess, a fine, calcareous wind-blown dust from the Ice Age that stores water and gives the vines reserves even in dry summers. The Danube acts as a heat store, the rocks release the warmth gathered during the day back to the vines, and cool downdraughts from the Waldviertel bring wide swings between day and night. The terraced landscape is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and on the steep slopes nearly all the work is done by hand.
Steinfeder, Federspiel, Smaragd: the ripeness levels of the Wachau
The Wachau's winegrowers have created their own names for the ripeness levels of their dry wines. Steinfeder denotes the lightest wines, up to 11.5% abv, named after a grass that grows on the terraces. Federspiel lies between 11.5 and 12.5% abv and stands for elegant, racy wines. Smaragd, named after the shimmering green lizard that basks on the warm walls, means the most powerful wines, from 12.5% abv, made from fully ripe grapes. Anyone interested in Wachau wine can read from these three terms on the label how much body awaits in the glass.
Grüner Veltliner and Riesling from Im Weingebirge to Steiner Hund
The Wachau's two most important grape varieties divide the slopes according to soil. Grüner Veltliner thrives on loess and deeper soils, where it yields green apple, white pepper and a spicy, creamy core. Riesling seeks out the meagre primary rock of the upper terraces and responds with peach, citrus and a salty, crystalline acidity. The Im Weingebirge site in Mautern, with paragneiss and loess, shows this combination in the Im Weingebirge Grüner Veltliner Smaragd trocken 2020. On the other side of the Danube near Stein lie Vom Stein and the steep Steiner Hund, whose terraces of gneiss and mica schist produce Rieslings of great longevity, such as the Steiner Hund Riesling trocken 2019. The Wachau also grows Neuburger, Gelber Muskateller and Weissburgunder.
Nikolaihof in Mautern: biodynamics since 1971 and a cellar with staying power
Nikolaihof lies in Mautern on the south bank of the Danube, and its cellars go back to Roman vaults. The Saahs family has farmed its vineyards biodynamically to Demeter standards since 1971, making it one of the pioneers of this approach. Compost, preparations and the rhythm of the year shape the work in the vineyard; in the cellar the wines mature in large wooden casks, some for many years, before appearing as late releases. So alongside fresh Federspiel wines from the latest vintage we offer mature Smaragds, Vinothek Rieslings and the skin-fermented wines of the semicolon line, made in an unvarnished, close-to-nature style. All these wines are available from us.