Weingut Knoll, Loibner Vinothekfullung Riesling Smaragd, Wachau 2022 - 75cl

Vinothekfüllung translates as the cellar's own bottling, and that is precisely what this is: the parcel Emmerich Knoll holds back for the estate's own shelves rather than releasing with everything else. It appears when Knoll decides it's ready, which is a good part of the appeal.

Knoll farms fifteen hectares of terraces around Unterloiben in the Wachau, three generations in, and that St Urban medallion on the label has barely changed in decades. Smaragd is the top rung of the Wachau's dry classification, above Federspiel and Steinfeder, and means the fruit came in at full ripeness with no residual sugar left behind. The site is the Loibner basin, deep Donausedimente over schist and flint, and you can taste the stone in the glass.

Bright yellow-green with silver at the rim. Apricot, white peach and something more exotic on the nose, lifted by white flowers. The palate manages juicy and structured at the same time — stone fruit and tropical fruit carried on acidity that reads fine rather than sharp, then a long salty-lemon finish that could only be Wachau. The 2022 came in at a gentler alcohol than some vintages here and is much the better for it: powerful, but drinkable now rather than in a decade. It will still keep for ten years if you want to test that.

How to Serve

10–12°C. Fridge-cold flattens it. Use a white wine glass with a proper bowl, and open it twenty minutes before pouring — dry Riesling of this weight closes up when it's shocked cold and rushed to the table.

Where to Drink It

Noble Rot, which understands Riesling better than almost anywhere in London. Bentley's, for oysters. The Wolseley, where a bottle of Wachau Riesling across a long lunch makes complete sense.

Food Pairings

Roast pork with crackling and something sharp alongside — the acidity cuts the fat while the stone fruit meets the sweetness of the meat. Smoked eel or trout is the other direction, and just as good.