Riesling Baumpresse 2015

Pale golden yellow in the glass, revealing a deep, approachable Riesling with no loudness whatsoever. Ripeness and fruit are composed, the acidity silky, and the tension comes from its minerality. Elegance and finesse define it more than power.

The grapes grow on clay, loess and paragneiss. Nikolaihof is located in Mautern in the Wachau, on the foundations of the Roman fort Favianis dating from 63 BC, and is considered Austria's oldest winery. The Saahs family has run the estate since 1894, farming biodynamically to Demeter standards since 1971, remaining to this day the only certified biodynamic producer in the Wachau.

Pure Riesling. In 2015, the grapes were pressed in the twelve-metre-long, 350-year-old tree press over a process lasting more than ten hours. The wine then aged for 18 months in a large 2,000-litre cask and was bottled only in 2023. 12.5% vol., dry.

The nose offers ripe yellow pome and stone fruit, calamansi cream, lanolin, a touch of stone, and ripe white and yellow blossom. On the palate, the fruit is white- and yellow-fleshed, with citrus and a distinctly spicy, herbal component. The acidity is ripe and silky, and the deep minerality keeps the wine in tension.

Porcini ravioli with Parmesan foam and crispy sage, bread-dumpling lasagne with pan-fried creamy wild mushrooms and meadow herb salad, or steamed spring chicken with truffle and cinnamon foam.

The tree press, housed in the Roman vaulted cellar, is a monument of oak beams and the heart of the estate. Nikolaihof is considered the oldest Demeter winery in the world; its Vinothek Riesling 1995 became the first Austrian wine to score 100 Parker points, in 2014.