2013 Riesling Smaragd Loibenberg

The Leo Alzingers, father and son, no doubt reached illustrious international status later than did a half dozen other Wachau estates, and that is no doubt partly for the same reason that they are now near the top of so many Austrian wine lovers' Wachau hit lists. They tended to fashion understated, refined, focused Rieslings and Grüner Veltliners of downright sedate complexity rather than obviously imposing richness or opulence. So current fashions in much of the wine world, including in the Wachau, are catching up with where they have long been. All that being said, it has struck me that several of the Alzingers’ most recent collections exhibit the virtues associated with their wines to an especially glorious degree and seem driven by a new level of youthful energy, suggesting that they may age even more impressively than earlier vintages have. A comment made by the younger Alzinger as we tasted his 2013 Grüner Veltliner Loibenberg Smaragd is illuminating. “In the loess-rich sectors of Loibenberg,” he opined, “you get more finesse in a year like this, whereas sometimes the wines can be a bit too broad and rich.” Quite a few Wachau growers might echo such sentiments today; but Alzinger Senior was alone in saying much the same thing 20 years ago.

Riesling usually outshines Grüner Veltliner at this address, and so it was in 2013 as well, although that exception to vintage norms also applied at nearby F. X. Pichler. Leo Alzinger Junior finds the emphasis on the summer’s heat and drought exaggerated in many accounts of this vintage. “There were only a few days here and there that were real scorchers,” he observed, “and we had the luck that, in between, we in the Wachau got some precipitation through the summer.” The highest alcohol recorded in any finished Alzinger 2013 (in the aforementioned Loibenberg Grüner Veltliner) was 13.9%.

"Two thousand fourteen produced barely half a normal crop," said Leo Alzinger, a touch smitten with regret when I arrived. Fortunately, I had come to taste the 2013s, which put a smile back onto his face. "It is one of our best vintages," he added, and it played well to his style. A late harvest with perfect physiological ripeness and not too much alcohol, it meshed exactly with Alzinger's goal of making crisp, elegant wines. "I would have liked to have stored more bottles for myself," he said, "but we have no space."

During my visit in February, we tasted only the Smaragds, which now account for over half of total production here. As Alzinger has made no Steinfeder since 2001, most of the rest of his wine is Federspiel. There is no question but that the Smaragds are the finest wines that this estate produces, but in terms of drinkability the lower alcohol levels of the latter wines can be an advantage.

Whenever I sit down to taste with Alzinger, I have the feeling that he would rather be in the vineyards. That is his true home. As his just over 10 hectares of vines encompass more than 50 parcels, though, he may be at a loss as to where to rest his head. Be that as it may, better vineyard management, lower yields, later harvests and global warming have certainly combined to further improve the already high average quality at this estate. While his style remains lighter, more austere and more reductive than many of his colleagues, his wines have more than enough flesh for the long haul.