Nikolaihof | Wachau | Hefeabzug, Grüner Veltliner trocken | 2016 | 750ml | bio

Beschreibung

Product description for Nikolaihof Hefeabzug, Grüner Veltliner trocken 2016 (bio)

Archive Release 2024.

Origin

A significant portion of the fruit comes from the Steiner Goldberg, a smaller portion from Mautern. The Steiner Goldberg vineyard was first mentioned in 1302. It lies at an altitude of 300 to 380 meters above sea level, overlooking Krems. The slopes face southeast, south, and east. The subsoil consists of crystalline rock such as paragneiss, mica schist, and quartzite. This creates a loamy-sandy, dry, and permeable, silty soil with a high stone content. The soil is lime-free and acidic, except in the south of the vineyard, where loess occurs. In Mautern, silty soils with loess and clay predominate.

Colour

Fresh, light lemon yellow

Nose

Inspiring Veltliner aromas of a vegetal mixture of fennel, celery, asparagus, and spring onion, complemented by fresh chervil and coriander leaves, bread crust, and freshly mown grain. A variety of aromas captivates me. I automatically think of spring, vegetables, herbs, and flowers.

Palate

Stimulating, watery, and easy to drink in the mouth. The stony undertones create a refined, mineral background that perfectly complements the astonishingly long finish. A serious wine whose freshness and simultaneous maturity, and its drinking pleasure, should not be underestimated.

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Keywords: Nikolaihof Hefeabzug, Grüner Veltliner trocken 2016 bio Wachau Austria

Wine Advocate

Score: 88

The 2016 Grüner Veltliner Hefeabzug is Nikolaus Saahs’s Steinfeder category and so it is the lightest Grüner Veltliner he has to offer. Bottled straight from the fine lees in April 2017, this is a clear and fresh Grüner Veltliner with white fruit aromas and a nice spicy freshness of white fruits. Fresh and piquant on the palate, this is a light and very elegant Grüner Veltliner with nice grip and charming fruit expression. It is dry, finessed and stimulatingly vital, a great pleasure to drink with lighter dishes. The finish is stunningly salty and well structured. An excellent light Grüner Veltliner!
Stephan Reinhardt

Vinous

Score: 89

While bottled off its lees, as its nickname implies, this wine was lightly filtered at bottling, whereas, in keeping with recent estate practice, a portion of the same cuvée was bottled without filtration under the nickname “Zwickl” (also reviewed in this report). Most oenophiles would be amazed at how greatly the two bottlings differ in taste. But think of it this way: at a critical point in each wine’s evolution, it underwent a very different experience, and after that, the two took distinctively different developmental paths. The nose here, in what has become classic Hefeabzug fashion, delivers mineral and herbal nuances – suggestive of marine breeze, chalk dust and iodine – along with pleasantly pungent yeastiness. An appealing savor suggestive of oyster liquor and seaweed emerges on the palate, where the feel is surprisingly creamy. But the finish delivers tangy lemon peel and apple skin, cucumber juiciness and considerable mineral nuance consistent with the wine’s aromas. While there is some midpalate sense of softness vis-à-vis more typical installments of this bottling, it will doubtless come as a surprise to most tasters to learn that this year’s Hefeabzug underwent complete malolactic transformation. (It’s entirely possible that the unfiltered, sediment-filled “Zwickl” version of this cuvée will have the longer bottle life. It has not yet been possible to compare the two versions in wines of several years’ age. But the track record of Nikolaihof’s Hefeabzug is formidable for an ostensibly “intro-level” bottling.)
— David Schildknecht
Drinking window: 2018 – 2023
Review date: Dec 2018

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