The Brilliance of Weingut Knoll
Weingut Knoll is recognized around the wine-drinking world for being one of the most special and coveted producers of Austrian wines. This is no small bragging right for a region that has been producing wine since the 1st century. Many a sommelier, wine nerd, collector and critic have recognized these wines for reaching the heights of potential of the Gruner Veltliner and the Riesling grapes as well as classic examples of Austria’s winemaking traditions.
If you were to point your car in a northwestern direction from Vienna you would find yourself in the historically renowned wine growing region of the Wachau Valley in about an hour.
Emmerich Knoll’s (pronounced with a hard ‘K’) family has been producing wines in the village of Unterloiben in the Wachau region of Austria for three generations in tandem with running the 400 year old Loibnerhof Familie Knoll restaurant in the town of Durstein. It’s a family affair.
Weingut Knoll is a leader of quality both in the vineyard and the winery making wines that have immediate appeal as well as being some of the most age worthy white wines in the world. There is no shortage of acidity and structure in these dense, tightly wound, mineral driven and generous wines - after a lengthy fermentation on the skins the wine is moved to large neutral casks for aging- developing a “sturdiness” that allows for a slow and wonderful development in the cellar if your patience allows.
The great vineyards of Kellerberg, Kreutles, Loibenberg, Schütt and Trum, to name a few, sit on the Left Bank or North side of the Danube river where the sunlight and heat are most impactful on these treasured vineyards. The Danube plays a very important role here balancing the climatic extremes of the cold winters and hot summers just as we observe in the Mosel of Germany or the Ribeira Sacra of Spain.
The Knoll family has some three dozen acres of plantings of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Traminer, Rivaner and Gelber to complement the Gruner Veltliner and Riesling that make up the majority of their vineyards and production and have made them one of Austria’s sought after wine producers.
You may be wondering what’s up with these labels? It has been posited that the Knoll wine bottles have an image of an Overseeing Jesus on them…..actually the all-knowing figure in the image is the St. Urban or Patron Saint of the winemaker and vineyards. (PG)
These large barrels made of Austrian oak are toasted so as to not impart flavor or aroma on the finished wine.
The 2019 vintage is deemed to be one of the very best in Austria over the last twenty or more years (hence the accompanying scores).
Here are a few distinctions and threads that exist in the wines below: all of the Knoll fruit is hand harvested, no grapes are destemmed and all are aged on their less with no batonnage.
Federspiel and Smaragd are styles of wine related to ripeness, must weight and the level of alcohol. Federspiel wines must have an 11.5%-12.5% level of alcohol, while Smaragd wines must have at least 12.5% alcohol. — ARTICLE BY PG.
Click each wine for more detail.
Notes on past wines that we’ve received from Weingut Knoll:
Gruner Veltliner Federspiel 2019
Light yellow-green. Delicate meadow herbs, a bit of apple, a hint of tobacco, guava, inviting bouquet. Juicy, integrated acid structure, powerful, finely spicy, white pear fruit, mineral aftertaste, good food wine. 91pts - Falstaff
Gruner Veltliner Trum Federspiel 2019
Light yellow-green, silver tints. Tobacco underlaid with herbal spice, a touch of passion fruit, fine orange zest. Juicy, elegant, integrated acidity structure, fruit expression of apple, lemony finish, fresh and lively. Long lasting and versatile. 92pts - Falstaff
Riesling Federspiel 2019
Light yellow-green, silver reflections. White peach fruit underlaid with a little lime and delicate notes of meadow herbs and greengage. Juicy, elegant, fine fruit expression, lively acid structure, mineral, long finish. 91 pts - Falstaff