2016 Riesling Smaragd Kellerberg

This long exemplary and technically increasingly sophisticated co-op, heavily vested in far-flung vineyards including along the Spitzer Graben (which represents nearly half its total holdings) and in other vulnerable sectors, attempted massive action in an effort to spare vines from the three frosty late April days of 2016. Smudge pots, burning straw, sprinklers and a hovering helicopter all had a go at it. But losses were severe in several sectors and in Spitzer Graben were close to 90%. Director Roman Horvath observed that overall, Grüner Veltliner represented the salvation of the vintage, quantitatively speaking, as losses in Riesling, Neuburger, Pinot Blanc and Muskateller were close to half compared with an average year. And despite its reduced size, this vintage’s Grüner Veltliner crop yielded a generous contingent of bottlings, including – as befits the vintage’s combination of long hang time with modest must weights – no fewer than half a dozen vineyard-designated Federspiele, of which I was unfortunately only able to taste two. (Of five vineyard-designated Riesling Federspiel bottlings, I tasted four.) Picking began on September 22, but there were regular delays due to sporadic rain, and despite the small crop size, harvest was not completed until mid-November. Results confirm the high standards of this establishment. (For details concerning its vineyards, practices and recent history, readers are invited to consult the extended introduction to my report on its 2013s.)