TN: 2002 Alzinger Riesling Smaragd Loibner Loibenberg (Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau)

  • 2002 Alzinger Riesling Smaragd Loibner Loibenberg - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau (12/16/2011)
    Drinking Austrian riesling tends to be a solitary experience: despite the world-class quality, no one seems to care much. This was a fantastic wine. Deep golden, almost burnished, color. Restrained floral nose. The palate, though, is spectacular: concentrated pit fruit and peach flavors, with marked wet stony minerality and subtle white pepper. Rich texture, with a strong acid spine. Even given my fondness for Austrian dry riesling, a truly outstanding wine.
    (94 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

LOVE Alzinger’s Rieslings. Thanks for the note - i’ve not had any 02s

A few of us are paying attention, thanks! Been told by a few winemakers that 2002 was one of the best vintages of the decade, and should be long lived. A bit surprised at the color of your wine. A couple 2001s (other producers, but high quality) were still holding well in color within the past year.

Some of us try and keep quiet about such wines.

Cheers,

Salil [sipping on 2010 Steinertal tonight]

Now here’s a wine that’s hard for me to get my head around. Really, really lean and tight. Did it reveal anything more with air?

Needed some air, but was quite incredible after a couple of hours. (But I love Steinertal - second perhaps only to Hirtzberger Singerriedel, so don’t my comments as anything neutral and unbiased.)

I made the comprehensive tour of Austria with (pre-WA) Schildknecht in 03—this is the one I picked as the top wine in the Wachau.

I’m sure there are some 02 Grüner Veltliners that have caught up with it by now,

but for somebody who 9.5 times out of 10 prefers German Riesling to Austrian, and 8 times out of 10 GV to Austrian RIesling—the wine was quite an eyeopener.

Alzinger is usually among the best.

Any recent 04 Steinertal tastings? Maybe I’ll open one tonight.

04 Steinertal’s been drinking incredibly well lately. Was quite stunning at a recent Steinertal vertical dinner.

Chris, I consider Austrian Riesling to be the most underrated great wines in the world, so you are not alone when you’re drinking alone [cheers.gif] .

BTW, I can’t recall if I’ve had this particular vintage recently, but I have had the 2004 several times this year and that is drinking spot on right now.

I care. I own a bunch of Austrian rieslings and love them.
alan

This is not true! flirtysmile

Yours truly …

But not under-priced. I’ve been wanting to explore in this area for a while, but the ante is fairly high. On the other hand, I’m feeling fairly well-stocked in my bread-and-butter wines, so may be able to spend more $ in this region in the coming years.

That is true, Ian - with guys like Gerhard providing consistent demand for the wines locally, there is no reason why the producers need to discount their wines for export markets, so Austrian rieslings are by definition not cheap (at least here in the U.S.).

That said, I think they are reasonably priced compared to White Burgs, and in my mind they are the only other white wines that can deliver the kind of complexity a white Burg can on a dry chassis, so when you view them in that context, I don’t think they are outrageously expensive. And if you get away from the Wachau, producers like Heidler and Nigl and Hirsch can be fairly reasonably priced with their mid-level wines - Nigl’s Kremsleiten riesling is pretty consistent QPR in my experience, as just one example.

I popped one about a month or so ago and it was incredible. I wish you could still find them at retail. Only two left…

That’s fair; white Burg’s pretty expensive - and you can’t age it.

More than aged Riesling, I find aged Austrian Gruner Veltliner much closer in terms of flavour complexity and texture to older white Burgundy.
A 95 FX Pichler Kellerberg Gruner Smaragd is one of my all time great wines, and blows the doors off any white Burg I’ve had in my life.

Then you need to drink more white Burg, Salil [cheers.gif] .

True as well. But given pricing, failure risks with premox and the fact that over half my cellar is filled with whites (mostly German/Austrian items, plus some Champagne and Vouvray), it’s not something I see myself buying much (any?) of for some time.

Squirrel away a few bottles of white Corton.

Among good Austrian producers, whose bottles above entry grade are least unaffordable?