Nikolaihof | Wachau | Vinothek, Riesling trocken | 2008 | 750ml | bio

Description

Product description for Nikolaihof Vinothek, Riesling trocken 2008 (bio)

Bottled in 2024. 2008 was not an easy vintage in the Wachau. A mild winter, scattered blossom, abundant rainfall during the growing season, and only a brief summer followed by a cool, damp autumn tended to produce lighter qualities with a good, lively acid structure. The grapes used for this wine come from the “Im Weingebirge” vineyard (although this vineyard is not mentioned in the wine shop bottlings), where St. Severin retreated to pray over 1,500 years ago. The soil consists of amphibolite, loess, and paragneiss. The grapes come from the older vines in the vineyard (southern part). The Riesling was aged on its fine lees in wooden barrels for over 15 years and bottled in April 2024. Analysis: 12.5% vol, 1.0 g/l RZ, 6.3 g/l GS If one could call a Wachau Riesling classic, then this 2002 Vinothek is it. After 16 years in the bottle, this Riesling from Mauthern seems as virile and full of life as a youth of the same age who has spent most of his life between the sports field and the grand piano in the music room. The wine is filled with great liveliness and excitement. From the first creamy, yet firmly structured sip, it expands across the

palate

into a long finish. Always present is a fine, unifying acidity, a phenolic note that lends the wine great seriousness, as well as a range of earthy, stony, and spicy notes that range towards licorice and wax and provide plenty of substance. The wine remains juicy and clear throughout, with subtle notes of stone and pome fruit. Fruit isn’t the main focus here. Structure and texture characterize this wine; transparency and clarity prevail, where too often the emphasis is on lush fruit. Despite its 16 years, one gets the feeling that this wine is just beginning to mature, not in the prime of its life—even though it’s already a tremendous pleasure to participate in its development.

Copyright Vinaturel 2025

Keywords: Nikolaihof Vinothek, Riesling trocken 2008 bio Wachau Austria

Wine Advocate

Score: 96

From the site Im Weingebirge, fermented in stainless steel, aged in a large oak cask and bottled in April last year, the 2008 Riesling Vinothek is clear and deep on the initially somewhat untamed and gamey as well as flor-inflected and slightly oaky nose that nevertheless indicates very clear and healthy, elegant and concentrated fruit with flinty notes, and it gains clarity and complexity with air. Aeration is highly recommended here and gives way to ginger notes and detailed terroir notes representing the amphibolite, loess and paragneiss of the soil. On the palate, this is a concentrated, fresh and elegant, tightly structured and refreshing mineral Riesling whose grip is still firm and biting (12 milligrams per liter of free sulfur dioxide). This is still a discreet wine that is to be handled with care and a carafe. I kept the bottle for five days to taste the wine again since the first impression represented caged potential rather than revelation. The second tasting showed a little bit more open and finessed, pure, fresh and saline yet still not singing. 12.5% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in January 2025.
2008 was not an easy vintage on the Danube. The mild winter was followed by an early budbreak. Flowering from mid-June was delayed, and the entire vegetation period was characterized by heavy rainfall. The summer hardly took place and led to a damp, cool fall. The wines of the vintage tend to be lighter and characterized by a lively acidity structure.
Stephan Reinhardt

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