2000 Riesling Vinothek

Nikki Saahs commenced the 2016 harvest in mid-September, which no longer counts as unusually early for this estate. Picking followed the usual progression of Grüner Veltliner before Riesling, and was finished up a month later. A striking aspect of the 2016 collection here is that the wines underwent malolactic transformation almost across the board, whereas usually incidences of malo at this address are merely sporadic. This hasn’t resulted in anything I would deem a deficiency, but it has occasionally made for a softer-than-usual overall impression, most notable in wines picked early at lower potential alcohol and thus likely reflecting a higher ratio of malic acid in the incoming must. Of course, as usual, the ostensibly top Grüner Veltliner and Riesling will only be released later, so an assessment of 2016 at this address must for now remain very tentative. Speaking of which, Saahs has decided to start giving his Grüner Veltliner Smaragd two-and-a-half years in cask, an approach long taken with the comparable Rieslings. For that reason, although I reviewed the 2014 Smaragd Im Weingebirge as part of my previous report, a review of the 2015 will not appear until my next report. “If I encounter a really difficult or short vintage,” he Saahs said, “I can always move back up the release date for a portion of my Grüner Veltliner Smaragd.”

At the time when the first Nikolaihof vintage 2016 wines were being released, the most exciting new offerings were the increasingly impressive Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Im Weingebirge and the initial offerings of Vom Stein Smaragd and Steiner Hund Rieslings of vintage 2014, all of which I describe in detail below. It’s perhaps worth mentioning, given the generally exemplary quality of Nikolaihof wines, that, as usual, not every one of them presented to me proved sufficiently impressive to result in a tasting note. Specifically, I found the latest renditions of a Zweigelt-based Brut Rosé (vintage 2014) and the Pinot Blanc known as “Elizabeth Tradition” (on this occasion, vintage 2015) no more persuasive than I have their predecessors. (I did not taste vintage 2016 renditions of Chardonnay or Gewürztraminer. For details concerning this estate’s vineyards, practices and recent history, I recommend consulting the extended introduction to my report that focused on Austria’s Rieslings and Grüner Veltliner of vintage 2013.)

As usual, my latest notes from the Nikolaihof cover recent releases that include wines from numerous vintages. Since I am only rarely offered the opportunity (virtually nobody is at this address) of tasting a sample from cask, it is never possible to get the complete perspective on a given Nikolaihof vintage until 18 months or so after harvest, by which point two Smaragd wines will have been bottled and will join the estate’s early offerings. Even then, you have to wait for the third year to taste the iconic Riesling Steiner Hund (not to mention that bottling can be delayed 15 or 20 years for the occasional “Vinothek” bottling). What’s more, the unique, perhaps literally inimitable style of Nikolaihof wines, coupled with this estate’s relatively laissez-faire cellar approach and staunch, longtime adherence to biodynamic practices, frequently make for collections that are out of step – often deliciously so – with overall vintage tendencies. Having revisited several Nikolaihof 2014s, and tasted their 2014 Grüner Veltliner Im Weingebirge reviewed below, I’d say the estate rendered a very good collection but did not turn in one of that vintage’s outstanding performances. We won’t know how 2014 Riesling Steiner Hund turned out until sometime next year, but since Nikki Saahs reports that due to current limitations on cellar space, some excellent candidates for Library releases are likely to get bottled early, I suspect that nothing from 2014 will have been slated for extremely extended cask maturation. Here’s hoping, though, that he can find room for setting aside some 2015s, because early indications clearly are that this is an exceptional vintage at the Nikolaihof. “Our vines held up well during the summer drought and heat,” reported Saahs, “but nevertheless they merely marked time,” which he suggests explains why the harvest began relatively late by estate standards, namely not until September 25. The aromatic duo of Muskateller and Gewurztraminer – picked in the first days – are unusually juicy and irresistible; the Neuburger is classic; and the ostensibly lesser Grüner Veltliner and Riesling bottlings aren’t lacking for their usual buoyancy and nuanced mineral, floral, and herbal details, even though they display unusually forward fruitiness. (For details concerning this estate’s vineyards, practices and recent history, I recommend consulting the extended introduction to my report that focused on Austria’s Rieslings and Grüner Veltliner of vintage 2013.)