This Wachau co-op with around 600 growers produces some of the most readily available and affordable examples of Grüner Veltliner and Riesling from the Wachau. While the wines are not at the same level as the very best private estates, standards are nonetheless quite impressive. Volume examples are released under the Wachau Klassik label and […]
This is very much a family business and one with a relatively low profile, at least outside the German speaking countries. Production from 10 ha is roughly two-thirds Grüner Veltliner and one-third Riesling. Vineyard sites include Pichl Point with loess soils, which give a ripe, very fruit-rich Smaragd Grüner. It is also sometimes made in […]
Franz Prager did much to establish the pre-eminence of top dry whites from the Wachau. His daughter Ilse and her winemaker husband Toni Bodenstein have sought to produce dry wines of ever-greater harmony and longevity as well as making some fine sweet wines when conditions permit. From the village of Weissenkirchen come several fine Smaragd […]
Rudi Pichler’s wines are meant to be different, aiming for greater concentration and structure as well as ripe, intense fruit flavours. The use of indigenous yeast and higher fermentation temperatures can add an almost exotic quality to the riper styles. Yet the balance is excellent with good definition and minerality. There is real strength and […]
Franz Xaver Pichler is acclaimed by many to be the Wachau’s finest producer and it’s hard to dispute given the extremely high quality in his top Smaragd Riesling and Grüner Veltliner of great extraction and concentration. Certainly no effort is spared in maximising the quality potential from 7.5 ha of vineyards. The Loibner Berg is […]
Nikolaus and Christine Saahs make fine biodynamically (Demeter certified) produced Riesling, Grüner Veltliner and Gelber Muskateller from 22 ha of vineyards that have been a source of wine for more than a thousand years. The vines have a high average age and recent vintages have added a little extra intensity to wines that have good […]
Almost half this 12.5 ha Wachau estate is planted to Grüner Veltliner and a quarter to Riesling. There are fine examples of each, both Federspiel and Smaragd, from leading sites. Particularly good is Riesling from Ried Steinborz (from 40–50-year-old vines) with a spicy component to its deep, stylish fruit character. Beyond the good vineyard-specific Grüners […]
This historic family vineyard of some 15 ha, planted mostly to Grüner Veltliner and Riesling, is another that shows just how good the top Wachau whites are. Emmerich Knoll’s wines can be difficult to taste when young but can become almost overwhelming in their intensity and concentration with a little age or time in the […]
Josef Jamek was one of the pioneers of the dry styles of Riesling and Grüner Veltliner that have reestablished Austria’s winemaking reputation. The 25 ha estate is now run by one of his daughters, Jutta, and her husband, Hans Altmann. Low yields contribute to an intense varietal expression as well as something of the individual […]
The 9.5 ha estate of Karl Holzapfel maintains a relatively low profile outside Austria but produces clean, pure if relatively austere examples of fine Wachau Grüner Veltliner and Riesling. At the Federspiel level this equates to cool, green-fruited and herb-tinged wines that avoid being harsh andwhich open out with a minimum of 2–3 years’ age. […]
The differences between the Wachau’s élite are more stylistic than qualitative and it is common to find that one producer pleases more one year or on one particular occasion and another at a different time. From 12 ha of rocky soils there is a pure pristine fruit intensity to Hirtzberger’s examples of Grüner Veltliner and […]
The wines of this small 8 ha estate are difficult to obtain but are some of the best of the Wachau. Leo Alzinger now works with his son (also called Leo) to produce slightly more Grüner Veltliner than Riesling from top sites including Loibenberg and Steinertal. These wines are typically intense, taut and steely when […]
