Nikolaihof | Wachau | Im Weingebirge, Grüner Veltliner Smaragd trocken | 2014 | 750ml | bio

Description

Product description for Nikolaihof Im Weingebirge, Grüner Veltliner Smaragd trocken 2014 (bio)

Archive Release 2024.

Origin

The “Im Weingebirge” vineyard is a so-called “vineyard within a vineyard.” It belongs to the “Alte Point” vineyard and borders the “Strudel” and “Süßenberg” vineyards above Mautern. The site covers a full six hectares and extends northwards from 206 to 225 meters up the slope. The subsoil is dominated by paragneiss, which here and there reaches the surface. The topsoil consists of clay and, above all, loess.

Colour

light yellow like primroses

Nose

The aroma of this 2014 is as distinctive as the 2014 vintage itself. Unmistakable, with a decimated, ripe fruit bouquet, less lush, less floral. Instead, oxidative notes dominate the character and underscore its lighter style.

Palate

The wine’s structure is densely woven, soft, and creamy. It lingers on the palate, allowing the distinctive acidity to really come through in the finish, giving the wine a refreshing length.

Copyright Vinaturel 2025

Keywords: Nikolaihof Im Weingebirge, Grüner Veltliner Smaragd trocken 2014 bio Wachau Austria

Wine Advocate

Score: 92

The golden-yellow colored 2014 Ried Im Weingebirge Grüner Veltliner Smaragd opens with a matured yet still fresh and vibrantly mineral bouquet with smoky/flinty nuances of crushed black rocks. Dense and intense as well as complex and saline on the palate, this is a quite powerful and adequately tannic Veltliner with an intense and powerful yet not extraordinarily long finish. 12.5% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Archive Release 2024. Tasted in January 2025.
Stephan Reinhardt

Vinous

Score: 93

Since the Saahses have elected to give future installments of this bottling additional time in cask, I won’t review the corresponding 2015 until my next report. But as I wrote in reviewing this 2014 last time out: “[It] may need more time to pull itself together, and I’ll try to make a point of re-tasting it in the coming year.” It’s now exhibiting so much complex allure in comparison with its showing at the time of release (mid-2016) that an updated review is called for. The basic elements remain the same: green bean, artichoke, apple and beet, with fresh lime and black pepper lending brightness and invigoration. But the depth of umami-rich and saline savor has been enhanced by caramelized turnip, fresh spinach, and iodine-tinged shrimp shell reduction, while the mouthwatering finish now features a striking sense of transparency to nuances including shimmering stony impingements of a sort one more usually experiences from a Riesling. I’m now also much more confident of this bottling’s aging potential.
— David Schildknecht
Drinking window: 2018 – 2026
Review date: Dec 2018

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