2008 Riesling vom Stein Smaragd

The current release in its category is Nikolaihof's 2008 Riesling Smaragd Vom Stein, which displays near delicacy as well as transparency to a fine sense of mineral, endearing traits that one notes today in a great many of the best Wachau wines of this challenging and initially underappreciated vintage (on more of which I shall shortly, belatedly, publish notes). Buddleia, peony and elder flower headily grace the nose; a juicy, buoyant, polished palate generously fills with white peach and grapefruit, suffused with floral and herbal essences and transparent to a shimmering array of mineral nuances; and a dynamic, uplifting, and refreshing finish clinches this wine's irresistibility. It should retain its beauty for at least the better part of a decade, and quite possibly longer. It will come as no surprise by now to learn that once again in 2010, the Saahs family began picking well ahead of any other Austrian growers of Riesling and Gruner Veltliner of whom I am aware; nor that they attribute their having been able to begin already in mid-September (!) to the rigorously biodynamic regimen that they have followed since long before all but a handful of wine lovers much less wine growers even knew to what the word -biodynamic- referred. It did surprise me when Nikolaus Saahs described this year's crop level as "nearly normal," but then, absence of botrytis in this vintage no doubt accounts for a significant enhancement of total juice. Extended lees contact and in some instances, it seems, malo-lactic transformation helped tame the acids, which are analytically lower in the finished wines I tasted than in most other Danubian Austrian whites of the 2010 vintage. (A subsequent report on other Nikolaihof wines tasted over the past several years but prior to this June will among other things account for a couple of revelatory recent releases in their "Vinothek" series of wines bottled after many years in cask.) Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300