Vom Stein Riesling Smaragd trocken 2014

A mature, dry Riesling of the Smaragd category, harvested in 2014 and released from the cellar only in 2024 as an Archive Release. The colour is a mature, dark straw yellow. Opening this bottle reveals a wine whose true power lies not in the bouquet, but on the palate.

The Mautern vineyard Ried Vom Stein is a cru within a cru: belonging to Silberbichl, it borders Zaum in Mautern and Am Zaum in Furth. It encompasses 4.2 hectares extending north-northeast up the slope from 209 to 237 metres. The soil is characterised by colluvial profiles featuring loam, loess and Danube gravel.

Pure Riesling from Nikolaihof in Mautern, Austria's oldest wine estate, farmed biodynamically under Demeter certification since 1971. The musts ferment spontaneously at the winery, followed by maturation in large Slavonian oak casks. At 12.5% ABV, the wine remains slender.

On the nose, the 2014 shows reductive and almost closed, with additional oxygen barely coaxing it open—a temporary dip that should resolve with a few more months in the cellar, as the palate has significantly more to offer. In the mouth, it feels balanced, round and refined, while the interplay of acidity and sweetness is wonderfully refreshing. Medium-bodied in structure, with a slightly saline, persistent finish.

Nikolaihof stands on Roman foundations dating back to 63 BC and has been farmed by the Saahs family since 1894. It is Austria's first Demeter-certified winery and the only certified biodynamic estate in the Wachau; a 350-year-old tree-and-beam press is still in use within the Roman vaulted cellar. Wild herbs grow between the vines across the entire 22-hectare estate.