2016 Riesling Smaragd Kellerberg

The Knolls avoided any significant frost damage and ended up with a relatively normal-sized crop. “Ripening was quite drawn out,” said Emmerich Knoll senior, “so we didn’t finish picking until mid-November.” Sporadic rains in October caused the berries to take on water several times, he reported, but each time it dissipated before it could have any adverse effects. “If it hadn’t been for that phenomenon,” he noted, “we would have harvested many of our parcels earlier. But I have to say that we were rewarded in those instances where we waited.” (For details concerning this estate’s vineyards, practices and recent history, readers are invited to consult the extended introduction to my report on its 2013s.)