2015 Riesling Smaragd Bruck

Undoubtedly the best-known grower in the Spitzer Graben, near the Wachau’s western edge, Josef Högl is also known for taking advantage of that sector’s relatively cool conditions to bottle a wide range of Federspiel, although that isn’t to suggest that Högl Smaragd always remains modest in alcohol, let alone demure. Högl assured me that “true Federspiel” was possible in 2015 without having had to pick anything prior to the first of October, even in those sites that he farms in Dürnstein, Loiben, and Weissenkirchen. Wait ... did I write “cool”? Högl informs me that on several summer 2015 days it reached 40°C [104°F] in the air above his Bruck vines! He and I tasted most recently at the 2016 VieVinum, where circumstances permitted him to present nearly but not quite all of his vintage 2015 collection. Quite a few wines I tasted were underwhelming, but the wonderful exceptions were happily more numerous than had been the case from vintage 2013. (I did not taste any of his 2014s.) With a couple of exceptions, the Högl wines are raised in tank and bottled in spring. (For details concerning this new estate’s vineyards and practices, readers are invited to consult the introduction to my report on its 2013 collection.)