Weingut Emmerich Knoll : Grüner Veltliner Ried Loibenberg Smaragd 2009

Tasting notes and pairing tips for the Grüner Veltliner Ried Loibenberg Smaragd 2009 from Weingut Emmerich Knoll

Tasting

Appearance

The wine displays a golden-yellow hue with bright highlights, reflecting its maturity and concentration.

Nose

The nose reveals remarkable aromatic complexity, dominated by the signature notes of white pepper and dill. These herbal aromas are joined by hints of citrus, white stone fruit, and mineral touches reminiscent of stone. With aeration, more evolved notes of toasted almonds and honey further enrich the bouquet.

Palate

On the palate, this wine shows a taut, precise structure, characteristic of the great Grüner Veltliner wines of Wachau. Lively, vibrant acidity supports a concentrated core where flavors of white fruits and lime mingle with spicy notes of white pepper and dill. The texture is both rich and mineral, leading to a long, saline finish that highlights the expression of the Loibenberg terroir.

Food and wine pairings

This Grüner Veltliner Ried Loibenberg Smaragd 2009 pairs perfectly with asparagus-based dishes, a vegetable that is traditionally difficult to match with wine. It is also excellent with seafood, notably oysters and scallops, whose delicacy it elevates with its minerality. Fragrant Asian cuisines featuring ginger and lemongrass find an ideal partner in this wine, as do fresh goat cheeses and white meats in creamy mushroom sauce.

Serving and cellaring

The Grüner Veltliner Ried Loibenberg Smaragd 2009 is ideally served at a temperature between 10 and 12°C. Thanks to its structure and concentration, this wine has outstanding aging potential that can exceed twenty years. The Smaragd wines from this vintage and this producer continue to develop their complexity and tertiary aromas over the years.

An exceptional Grüner Veltliner from Wachau, a pure expression of the Austrian Loibenberg terroir

The estate

Established in the early 19th century in the village of Unterloiben in Lower Austria, Weingut Emmerich Knoll is one of the region’s benchmarks in the Wachau winegrowing area. The family began bottling its wines in 1947, before adopting in 1962 its iconic label depicting Saint Urban, patron saint of winegrowers, painted by Austrian artist Siegfried Stoitzner. Today, the estate is run by Emmerich Knoll III and his brother August, who carry on the family tradition across around eighteen hectares of vines spread over the finest terroirs in Wachau. Emmerich Knoll III also presides over the Vinea Wachau association, underscoring the family’s central role in promoting this exceptional wine region, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The vineyard

The Loibenberg vineyard is one of the largest and most geologically complex sites in Wachau, covering around thirty-five hectares of steep, south-facing terraces. Documented since 1384, this historic terroir rises from 210 to nearly 400 meters in altitude. The soil is primarily based on Gföhl gneiss, a metamorphic rock some five hundred million years old, complemented by loess deposits in certain parcels. This outstanding southern exposure has earned Loibenberg the nickname “the Wachau’s hot plate,” although cool winds descending from the north temper the heat and create microclimatic variations depending on altitude. The terraces are maintained by hand, requiring around one thousand five hundred hours of work per hectare each year. This unique configuration makes it possible to produce concentrated, powerful Smaragd wines while preserving the site’s hallmark mineral precision.

The vintage

The 2009 vintage is among the most exceptional in Austria, part of the legendary series of years ending in nine. While the start of the season was marked by contrasting weather conditions, with early flowering at the end of May followed by a July alternating heat and thunderstorms, September radically changed the outlook. Ideal “Indian summer” conditions set in, with warm days and cool nights allowing for natural juice concentration while preserving the grapes’ aromatic compounds and acidity. Harvest took place under sunny skies until early October, before wintry conditions arrived. This providential end to the season made it possible to reach the ripeness levels required for the Smaragd classification while maintaining the balance and freshness that distinguish Austria’s great white wines.

Vinification and aging

The Grüner Veltliner Ried Loibenberg Smaragd 2009 is crafted according to a minimalist winemaking philosophy designed to express the terroir in its purest authenticity. The grapes are harvested by hand without destemming and gently pressed. Fermentation takes place in large, old oak casks that impart only a subtle oaky influence, thus preserving the aromatic purity of the grape variety and the terroir. The wine remains on its lees for several months without bâtonnage, allowing complexity to develop naturally. In keeping with the requirements of the Smaragd classification, the wine undergoes extended aging in oak barrels before bottling, which cannot occur before May 1 following the harvest. This non-interventionist approach enables the wine to develop its taut structure and its characteristic mineral profile.

Grape variety

100% Grüner Veltliner, Austria’s emblematic white grape variety, grown on the outstanding Loibenberg terroir.