Nikolaihof | Wachau | Vinothek, Riesling trocken “Fass Severin” | 1997 | 750ml | bio

Description

Product description for Nikolaihof Vinothek, Riesling trocken “Fass Severin” 1997 (bio)

Bottled in 2022. The Nikolaihof is the oldest winery in Austria, with a history dating back to 63 AD. After secularization at the end of the 19th century, the business passed into the hands of the Saahs family, and Nikolaus Saahs took over management in 2005. Since 1971, the Nikolaihof has been operating according to biodynamic principles, which led to Demeter certification. Since then, nettle manure, valerian drops, horsetail tea, and specially prepared preparations have replaced herbicides, pesticides, or fungicides. The Severin barrel is one of the wood-carved barrels from the estate’s old Roman cellar, where the reserve wines for the late vintage and wine shop bottlings mature. It is dedicated to Saint Severin, who lived towards the end of the 4th century of the Roman Empire and came from Mautern. There are two bottlings from the 1997 vintage, the first of which was bottled in 2014 as a vinotheque. The second bottling was intended for the 3300-liter cask Severin, which is also the name of the youngest member of the Saahs family. The wine was bottled in spring 2022.

Colour

Straw yellow with brilliant reflections, radiant and clear.

Nose

The nose of the 1997 Cask Severin from Nikolaihof, like a James Webb telescope, looks back into the aromatic past of this wine and, in the glass, sums it up to what it is today—with the best promise for the future. What took 25 years to become what it is today must be met with sufficient time. Carafed in good time, preferably a day or two before consumption, universal glasses are recommended for precision, or Pinot glasses for a broad aromatic display on the palate. Since the 1997 Severin shines not through opulence but through finesse and elegance, I choose the universal glass. On the nose, it speaks of maturity, but without any notes of aging and seems much younger than it actually is. Elderflowers, acacia blossoms, and linden blossoms, decorated with lemon balm and linseed oil, float above the green apricot like zeppelins. Alongside subtle dried fruit, it does not rely on fruit as a leitmotif, but forms a multi-layered conglomerate of aromas that exudes an incredibly vibrant freshness. Tasted over three days, the wine’s aromas were constantly changing, yet always unique and grand.

Palate

On the first sip, it impressively proves that the best wine is not always the most powerful, but rather the most subtle. With a multi-layered, delicate structure, it presents an uncompromisingly dry first sip with zero fruit, apart from the dried green apricot extract. With its creamy texture, it appears salty on the palate with slightly resinous accents and distinctive ripening notes that lend it its aromatic edginess. The noble tannin clings persistently to the palate and has a spicy, stimulating effect; the acidity is exquisitely refined and long-lasting, extending into the saline finish. Despite its austere character, it is tartly contoured on the palate, rich in extract, with a sublimely silky fullness, tremendous aromatic concentration, and a high vibrancy in the cathedral finish.

Copyright Vinaturel 2025

Keywords: Nikolaihof Vinothek, Riesling trocken “Fass Severin” 1997 bio Wachau Austria

Wine Advocate

Score: 97

Aged 27 years but bottled only in February 2022, the extraordinary 1997 Riesling Vinothek Fass Severin represents a truly great vintage of rare qualities in the Wachau and all along the Danube between Spitz and Vienna. Mainly sourced in the vineyards Im Weingebirge (amphibolite, loess and paragneiss) and Vom Stein (loess and Danube gravel) as well as from other vineyards in Mautern, the white-golden 1997 Vinothek Riesling is from a cask named Severin and is clear, fresh and savory on the deep and intense yet elegant and even in part leafy nose that shows coolish, mineral depth and even reveals some sweet saffron and vegetal or even greenish/nutty nuances just like acorns. Is this Riesling the perfect match with Ibérico de Bellota? Full-bodied, dense and very complex yet also vivacious and even frisky on the palate, this is a great, comparably lean rather than rich and powerful Riesling from the Nikolaihof whose Jura-like flor note is highly delicate and discreet and perfectly intermingled with flinty tones. Surprisingly, the flor nuance disappears with generous aeration. This 1997 is tight, fresh and elegant on the lively, incredibly young palate, leaving intensity, salt and complexity. The wine is very long and highly promising, a stellar vintage for the Wachau and Nikolaihof. 13% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in January 2025.
Very low temperatures at the end of December 1996 caused frost damage in the lowlands. Budbreak was late, but beautiful May made up for it. The vines flowered between June 10 and 20. A cooler July with a good water supply was followed by a warm August and a fantastic September. The winegrowers were able to harvest ripe, healthy grapes. The large temperature differences between day and night in the fall gave the wines of the 1997 vintage an unmistakable, classic character with elegant fruit, a rather slender body and vital acidity. It’s perhaps the last classic vintage—certainly the last great one of a time that is over due to global warming.
Stephan Reinhardt

Vinous

Score: 97

The 1997 Riesling Vinothek Fass Severin was bottled in February 2022 after almost 25 years in a 3,000-liter barrel, on whose headboard is a carving of Saint Severin—hence the name. (NB this is a different wine from a different site than the one previously released in 2014 as Vinothek 1997). A cooling sense of lemon and Mirabelle rises from the slightly waxy, slightly yeasty nose. All is subdued, and nothing is up-front. Concentration and linearity of lemon brightness is immediate on the palate. This is a pure, very ripe, intense Riesling of unusual freshness. It has a salty, waxy depth that draws you in but comes across as immensely youthful. This is so clean-cut, so hair-raising, so pristine—a wonderful depiction of Riesling’s essential nature as a life force of freshness and inherent drive. Profound lemon freshness echoes long. (Bone-dry)
— Anne Krebiehl MW
Drinking window: 2023 – 2045
Review date: Feb 2024

Producer website: https://www.nikolaihof.at/en/home/