The Elegant White Wines of Domäne Wachau
Smaragd sounds like something you’d find in a Lord of the Rings adventure, but in Austria, it’s a wine classification for the best dry white wines. World-class Grüner Veltliner and Riesling wines are produced in the Wachau, a narrow Danube River valley with steeply terraced vineyards along its banks. Domäne Wachau, one of Austria’s largest wineries, makes elegant and complex white wines from this diverse landscape. While the names and classification system for the wines may seem complex to the American palate, their brilliant quality shines, fresh and invigorating when young, deep and complex with age.
Domäne Wachau is a high quality wine cooperative, with 250 family winegrowers providing fruit for the brand. Over 1000 acres total of steep vineyards are farmed, with each family tending to their small 2-5 acre plots. It’s a labor intensive undertaking, since all work is done by hand. The Domäne recognizes the difficulty in this heroic viticulture, and rewards the family vintners with a pay system, based on their unique terroir. Cover crops, canopy management, and no pesticides are part of the quality control that the Domäne encourages. The ancient stone walls, erected to prevent erosion of the vineyard top soils, are an important part of what makes the fruit so special. Made by stacking rocks without the aid of mortar, the centuries old walls add to the health of the vines in several ways. The enclosed terraces promote specific fauna and flora for the soils, such as beneficial insects, and keeps the clusters cooler in the hot days of August. The grapes hang longer on the vines, picked in late autumn at peak physiological ripeness, and gently vinified, with as little intervention in the winemaking process as possible. This allows for the distinct single vineyard expressions of the wines, with the constant of Wachau acidity and minerality at its core.
There are three categories of premium dry white wines, classified by alcohol content, from the Wachau: Steinfeder, Federspiel, and Smaragd. Steinfeder wines (11% ABV or less), named for the feathery grass found in the rocky slopes, are light and refreshing; Federspiel, referring to the lure used in falconry, are the middle range wines, fresh, fruity and elegant, and Smaragd wines (12.5% ABV), named for the emerald green lizard found on the stone terrace walls, is concentrated and complex. While the simple Steinfeder wines are no longer exported, Domäne Wachau offers Federspiel and Smaragd wines from every top “cru” or vineyard in the Wachau region, the only producer in the region with such a diverse bottling.
Over 10 years ago, Master of Wine Roman Horvath joined Domäne Wachau as its Winery Director. He’s focused on quality, and has guided the Winery through the necessary changes to achieve this goal. Recently, Horvath conducted a trade tasting of their Grüner Veltliner and Riesling wines at BOA Steakhouse in Los Angeles, a great introduction to their extensive lineup. “Acidity is the buzzword”, Horvath said, making it the defining characteristic of all Domäne Wachau wines.
Grüner Veltliner, a low acid, spicy, and herbal wine, makes up 70% of their production. Riesling, a fragrant, leaner, more high acid wine, is fermented dry in the Wachau, unlike Germany, and displays very little of that petrol nose that it is sometimes known for. Over a dozen wines were sampled, from the Terrassen entry level wines to the single vineyard beauties, even a fascinating Grüner Veltliner VDN Brandy, and a not too sweet Beerenauslese dessert wine, a blend of Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, and Muscat, whose fresh acidity immediately whisked the sweetness away.
The evolution of the Grüner Veltliner wines were amazing, gaining complexity and depth of flavor, depending on the vineyard and age. Last year’s harvest, the 2015 vintage, is considered to be a great year. The Achleiten Smaragd, from the renowned Achleiten vineyard, channeled stone fruit, floral, mineral, and spice notes, a concentrated wine that will continue to deepen with another 5-8 years of age. The Kellerberg Smaragd was rounder, with a creamy texture, more spice, and hints of dried herbs and nuts on the persistent finish. Going back in time, the 2010 Grüner Veltliner Achleiten Smaragd was incredible, a golden beauty of baked apple, lemon, and herbal aromas and flavors, with a finish that never stopped. And, a treat, the 1997 Achleiten was poured, a wine of legend, with more evolved fruit and nutty notes, but still so alive, this wine really demonstrated the capacity of Grüner to age gracefully.
The few Rieslings tasted were aromatic, with high acidity, and long finishes, definitely a Riesling on the nose yet different in their dry incarnations from some of the German wines. The Riesling Terrassen Smaragd 2015 was a delight, with its ripe apple, apricot, and lemon fruit, balanced and well integrated, with a very long finish.
Domäne Wachau’s single vineyard Grüner Veltliner and Riesling wines are truly special, elegant and mineral, refreshing and complex, and extremely food friendly. With all the interest at the trade tasting, expect to see more of these wines, in restaurants and wine shops. Embrace your inner Grüner, and pick up a few bottles, and taste “quality without compromise”.
Smaragd sounds like something you’d find in a Lord of the Rings adventure, but in Austria, it’s a wine classification for the best dry white wines. World-class Grüner Veltliner and Riesling wines are produced in the Wachau, a narrow Danube River valley with steeply terraced vineyards along its banks. Domäne Wachau, one of Austria’s largest wineries, makes elegant and complex white wines from this diverse landscape. While the names and classification system for the wines may seem complex to the American palate, their brilliant quality shines, fresh and invigorating when young, deep and complex with age.
Domäne Wachau is a high quality wine cooperative, with 250 family winegrowers providing fruit for the brand. Over 1000 acres total of steep vineyards are farmed, with each family tending to their small 2-5 acre plots. It’s a labor intensive undertaking, since all work is done by hand. The Domäne recognizes the difficulty in this heroic viticulture, and rewards the family vintners with a pay system, based on their unique terroir. Cover crops, canopy management, and no pesticides are part of the quality control that the Domäne encourages. The ancient stone walls, erected to prevent erosion of the vineyard top soils, are an important part of what makes the fruit so special. Made by stacking rocks without the aid of mortar, the centuries old walls add to the health of the vines in several ways. The enclosed terraces promote specific fauna and flora for the soils, such as beneficial insects, and keeps the clusters cooler in the hot days of August. The grapes hang longer on the vines, picked in late autumn at peak physiological ripeness, and gently vinified, with as little intervention in the winemaking process as possible. This allows for the distinct single vineyard expressions of the wines, with the constant of Wachau acidity and minerality at its core.
There are three categories of premium dry white wines, classified by alcohol content, from the Wachau: Steinfeder, Federspiel, and Smaragd. Steinfeder wines (11% ABV or less), named for the feathery grass found in the rocky slopes, are light and refreshing; Federspiel, referring to the lure used in falconry, are the middle range wines, fresh, fruity and elegant, and Smaragd wines (12.5% ABV), named for the emerald green lizard found on the stone terrace walls, is concentrated and complex. While the simple Steinfeder wines are no longer exported, Domäne Wachau offers Federspiel and Smaragd wines from every top “cru” or vineyard in the Wachau region, the only producer in the region with such a diverse bottling.
Over 10 years ago, Master of Wine Roman Horvath joined Domäne Wachau as its Winery Director. He’s focused on quality, and has guided the Winery through the necessary changes to achieve this goal. Recently, Horvath conducted a trade tasting of their Grüner Veltliner and Riesling wines at BOA Steakhouse in Los Angeles, a great introduction to their extensive lineup. “Acidity is the buzzword”, Horvath said, making it the defining characteristic of all Domäne Wachau wines.
Grüner Veltliner, a low acid, spicy, and herbal wine, makes up 70% of their production. Riesling, a fragrant, leaner, more high acid wine, is fermented dry in the Wachau, unlike Germany, and displays very little of that petrol nose that it is sometimes known for. Over a dozen wines were sampled, from the Terrassen entry level wines to the single vineyard beauties, even a fascinating Grüner Veltliner VDN Brandy, and a not too sweet Beerenauslese dessert wine, a blend of Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, and Muscat, whose fresh acidity immediately whisked the sweetness away.
The evolution of the Grüner Veltliner wines were amazing, gaining complexity and depth of flavor, depending on the vineyard and age. Last year’s harvest, the 2015 vintage, is considered to be a great year. The Achleiten Smaragd, from the renowned Achleiten vineyard, channeled stone fruit, floral, mineral, and spice notes, a concentrated wine that will continue to deepen with another 5-8 years of age. The Kellerberg Smaragd was rounder, with a creamy texture, more spice, and hints of dried herbs and nuts on the persistent finish. Going back in time, the 2010 Grüner Veltliner Achleiten Smaragd was incredible, a golden beauty of baked apple, lemon, and herbal aromas and flavors, with a finish that never stopped. And, a treat, the 1997 Achleiten was poured, a wine of legend, with more evolved fruit and nutty notes, but still so alive, this wine really demonstrated the capacity of Grüner to age gracefully.
The few Rieslings tasted were aromatic, with high acidity, and long finishes, definitely a Riesling on the nose yet different in their dry incarnations from some of the German wines. The Riesling Terrassen Smaragd 2015 was a delight, with its ripe apple, apricot, and lemon fruit, balanced and well integrated, with a very long finish.
Domäne Wachau’s single vineyard Grüner Veltliner and Riesling wines are truly special, elegant and mineral, refreshing and complex, and extremely food friendly. With all the interest at the trade tasting, expect to see more of these wines, in restaurants and wine shops. Embrace your inner Grüner, and pick up a few bottles, and taste “quality without compromise”.